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3991. China-Russia Relations: Summer Heat and Sino-Russian Strategizing

Author:
Yu Bin
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The Sino-Russian strategic partnership was in overdrive during the summer months despite the unbearable, record-setting heat in China and Russia. While the Snowden asylum issue dragged on, “Operation Tomahawk” against Syria appeared to be in countdown mode by late August. In between, the Russian and Chinese militaries conducted two large exercises, which were described as “not targeted against any third party,” a term often used by the US and its allies to describe their exercises. Welcome to the age of speaking softly with or without a big stick.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Russia, China, and Moscow

3992. Australia-East Asia/US Relations: Election plus Marines, Joint Facilities and the Asian Century

Author:
Graeme Dobell
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
The 12 months under review saw the unfolding of the withdrawal timetable from Afghanistan, the second rotation of US Marines to northern Australia, the first “Full Knowledge and Concurrence” statement on US facilities on Australian soil in six years, and the end of Australia's long-term military deployments in Timor Leste and Solomon Islands. The Gillard government produced a trio of major policy statements built on an understanding that Asia's “extraordinary ascent” means Australia is entering “a truly transformative period in our history.” In the words of the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper: “In managing the intersections of Australia's ties with the United States and China, we will need a clear sense of our national interests, a strong voice in both relationships and effective diplomacy.” Meanwhile, Australian politics experienced a bit of turmoil. The Labor government discarded Australia's first female prime minister in an attempt to appease the voters, but instead the voters discarded the Labor government. So it was that in the national election on Sept. 7, Australia got its third prime minister in the same calendar year. After six years of Labor rule, the LiberalNational Coalition led by Tony Abbott is back in power. Plummeting opinion polls had caused the Labor Parliamentary Caucus to vote out Julia Gillard as leader in June and elect Kevin Rudd as prime minister. Thus, Labor returned to the man it had thrown out of the prime ministership in 2010, afraid he could not win the looming 2010 election. Facing the prospect of another federal election, the Caucus this time dispensed with Gillard and gave Rudd a second chance as prime minister. Rudd, though, carried the weight of Labor's six years in office and the wounds of his bitter three-year leadership wrangle with Gillard, a struggle that had eaten at the government's standing and morale. Abbott's simple message was a Coalition alternative to the disunity, drama, and spectacular hatreds of the Labor years, allowing the Liberal leader to run a campaign that was singularly light on policy commitments. In the end, not being Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd was enough for an Abbott triumph.
Topic:
Security and Government
Political Geography:
East Asia and Australia

3993. Mobile Learning in Defense and Security Organizations

Author:
Christian Glahn
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Technology has been part of education and training in security and defense organizations for a long time. E-learning and advanced distributed learning (ADL) have helped to standardize, optimize, and scale education and training. Many organizations and affiliated institutions already make good use of Web-based technologies to provide training for performance support and career development. Over the past years, ADL solutions have become part of the standard procedures of many organizations. The Partnership for Peace Consortium (PfPC) plays an important role in facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experiences among ADL practitioners in defense academies. The ADL Working Group of the PfPC is home to a strong and active community that brings new technologies into the practice of education and training in security and defense organizations. In the past, the primary focus of ADL activities was creating and enhancing interoperable Web-based training modules by promoting the adoption of the Scalable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). The joint learning management system of the PfPC that is hosted by the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) based in Zurich has become a hub for Web-based training resources that are shared and used by the entire PfPC ADL community.

3994. Research Ethics in the Mobile Learning Environment (MoLE) m-Learning Project

Author:
Jacob Hodges and Geoff Stead
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
This research paper discusses the Mobile Learning Environment (MoLE) Project, a unique and ambitious effort sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense's Coalition Warfare Program (CWP) in partnership with over twenty nations. The mobile learning project explored the usefulness and effectiveness of using mobile technologies as a tool to support training activities in medical stability operations. This article discusses the importance of employing global research ethics and social responsibility practices in the testing and evaluating of science and technology projects. It provides an under- standing of research ethics requirements and looks at how the technical challenges were applied within a global framework. Finally, it showcases an integrated application of a mobile capability in accordance with a myriad of research ethics guidelines and concludes with the accomplishment of evaluating this global capability.
Political Geography:
United States

3995. Supporting Crisis Simulations with the ARLearn Toolkit for Mobile Serious Games

Author:
Stefaan Ternier, Atish Gonzalvez, Bernardo Tabuenca, Fred de Vries, and Marcus Specht
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Although the transfer of factual knowledge plays an important role when training personnel who operate in potentially dangerous conditions, mobile learning techniques to support security training are often underused. There is a great value in simulating dangerous situations in the training context. In contrast to learning from a textbook, a simulation leaves room for customization and surprise, as players do not know what will happen in advance. By experiencing a series of events that occur in a simulation, participants learn in an authentic context and are trained to respond to events as they occur. This is different from studying factual knowledge. The theory of situated learning supports this assumption, and states that learners do not learn via the plain acquisition of knowledge but rather through active participation in social contexts. Organizing simulations in the real world can become very expensive and resource-intensive. For instance, a real-life military simulation can require the use of weapons and explosives to engage the participants in the scenario. Many dangerous situations require personnel with different roles (e.g., team leader, communication expert) to cooperate. Managing these different roles during a simulation requires extra work of the simulation facilitator.

3996. Supporting Learner Mobility in SCORM-Compliant Learning Environments with ISN Mobler Cards

Author:
Christian Glahn
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Over the last decade, mobile information technologies have become a ubiquitous part of daily life. Mobile learning research has been going on for less than ten years, given that the smartphone revolution only started in 2006. As such, this field is among the newest research areas in educational technology. Given the overwhelming success of smart mobile devices on the global scale, this technology appears to be well suited to extending the reach and continuity of educational programs.

3997. Mobile Learning and ADL's Experience API

Author:
Kristy Murray, Peter Berking, Jason Haas, and Nikolaus Hruska
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative's Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM®) has been a staple of online learning standards since 2001. The SCORM specification was created by ADL to address interoperability challenges that existed prior to the wide adoption of touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. A new interoperability standard is needed to support training opportunities on mobile devices. ADL's Experience API (xAPI) can now provide an option for mobile devices to support traditional online training scenarios as well as new types of informal learning opportunities. However, a mobile SCORM capability involves more than simply ensuring technical compatibility with a new technology. It has new implications for instructional design as well as the potential to improve the overall learning experience.

3998. The Role of Teaching History for a Nation-Building Process in a Post-Conflict Society: The Case of Macedonia

Author:
Biljana Popovska
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The theoretical framework of this article is based on several published works whose content deals with history teaching as a key mechanism of justice in transitional societies. Then, it draws from the work of the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe and their project "Clio in the Balkans" and the Joint History Text- book Project. In addition, there are materials from interviews with Macedonian and Albanian history teachers, experts, and government representatives selected from the participants in the Macedonian project presented at a United States Institute of Peace conference in Washington, D.C. in November 2005.
Political Geography:
United States and Washington

3999. Use of New Data Could Help Improve Oversight of Distance Education - GAO Report on Higher Education

Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
As the largest provider of financial aid in higher education, with about $134 billion in Title IV funds provided to students in fiscal year 2010, the Department of Education (Education) has a considerable interest in distance education. Distance education- that is, offering courses by the Internet, video, or other forms outside the classroom- has been a growing force in postsecondary education and there are questions about quality and adequate oversight. GAO was asked to determine the characteristics of distance education today, the characteristics of students participating in distance education, how the quality of distance education is being assessed, and how Education monitors distance education in its stewardship of federal student aid funds. GAO reviewed federal laws and regulations, analyzed Education data and documents, and interviewed Education officials and industry experts. GAO also interviewed officials from accrediting and state agencies, as well as 20 schools - which were selected based on a variety of factors to represent diverse perspectives.

4000. Summaries

Author:
Keren Yarhi-Milo
Publication Date:
10-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Security
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
How do policymakers infer the long-term political intentions of their states' adversaries? A new approach to answering this question, the “selective attention thesis,” posits that individual perceptual biases and organizational interests and practices influence which types of indicators a state's political leaders and its intelligence community regard as credible signals of an adversary's intentions. Policymakers often base their interpretations on their own theories, expectations, and needs, sometimes ignoring costly signals and paying more attention to information that, though less costly, is more vivid (i.e., personalized and emotionally involving). In contrast, intelligence organizations typically prioritize the collection and analysis of data on the adversary's military inventory. Over time, these organizations develop substantial knowledge on these material indicators that they then use to make predictions about an adversary's intentions. An examination of three cases based on 30,000 archival documents and intelligence reports shows strong support for the selective attention thesis and mixed support for two other approaches in international relations theory aimed at understanding how observers are likely to infer adversaries' political intentions: the behavior thesis and the capabilities thesis. The three cases are assessments by President Jimmy Carter and officials in his administration of Soviet intentions during the collapse of détente; assessments by President Ronald Reagan and administration officials of Soviet intentions during the end of the Cold War; and British assessments of Nazi Germany before World War II.
Political Geography:
United Kingdom