Misguided Weapons

Technological failure results when one side in a conflict does not fully grasp the potential impact of known, or even familiar, weapons in the enemyas hands. In most cases, such failure resulted from higher officialsa ignorance or their total misunderstanding of the importance and relevance of such technology and science as well as of their application to warfare. Technological failure is also the root cause of technological surprise. While operational surprise on the battlefield poses grave problems, technological surprise is far more serious, because, as Azriel Lorber explains, it often leads to disasters on the battlefield and is more difficult to recover from. In too many cases, technological failure and surprise stem from all-too-human characteristics, such as self-satisfaction, disdain for the adversary, obtuseness, and conservatism. Because these traits show no evidence of disappearing, political decision makers and military commanders should be aware that technological failure and technological surprise could happen at any time."

This book is amongst the first academic treatments of the emerging debate on autonomous weapons. Autonomous weapons are capable, once programmed, of searching for and engaging a target without direct intervention by a human operator. Critics of these weapons claim that ‘taking the human out-of-the-loop’ represents a further step towards the de-humanisation of warfare, while advocates of this type of technology contend that the power of machine autonomy can potentially be harnessed in order to prevent war crimes. This book provides a thorough and critical assessment of these two positions. Written by a political philosopher at the forefront of the autonomous weapons debate, the book clearly assesses the ethical and legal ramifications of autonomous weapons, and presents a novel ethical argument against fully autonomous weapons.

A “hard-hitting apocalyptic thriller” from award-winning author Scott Mackay in which mankind discovers that it is not alone in the universe—and that it is far from the highest form of life...(Booklist) At a lunar research station on Earth’s moon, scientists are stunned to witness the sudden appearance of a massive silver sphere that leaves destruction in its wake. Seemingly indifferent to the human beings it has devastated with its arrival, the sphere takes up residence in a crater. From there, it unleashes dozens of strange tower-like structures that surround the moon. Little can be uncovered about the object, except that it has travelled millions of light years, and is in communication with a distant galaxy. But its ominous purpose soon becomes clear when it manipulates the sun into an accelerated life cycle, hurtling it toward its Earth-destroying red dwarf end-stage. Only scientist Dr. Cameron Conrad divines the intelligent design operating behind this solar manipulation. He knows that to those controlling the sphere, humans seem like little more than insects. He is the only one who at last understands their truly alien nature enough to tell them, through the startling hyper-dimensionality in which they, exist that their science experiment with the sun may annihilate all humankind... “Mackay’s clearly working with some ideas and concepts that are way outside the norm, and it makes for a gripping story. His aliens are, well, properly alien, existing on levels far beyond our normal range of understanding...” —SF SITE

First published in 1985, Misguided Missiles examines the intense controversies surrounding Canadian participation in the development of new weapons systems during the Reagan years. Simon Rosenblum demonstrated how these weapons systems were dubious even on their own terms--technically, economically and strategically. Deploying a tremendous depth of research, the author shows how Pentagon and defence industry machinations, rather than security needs, explain the contemporary rise of the cruise missile and Star Wars initiatives. Misguided Missiles offers a vital an immediate appreciation of one of the most contentious debates in Canadian national life in the early 1980s.

Repairing the Athlete’s Image: Studies in Sports Image Restoration, edited by Joseph R. Blaney, Lance Lippert, and J. Scott Smith, offers twenty-one case studies and conceptual frameworks about athletes and their organizations as they attempt to mitigate the effects of malfeasance. Employing traditional Image Restoration Theory (IRT) approaches to athletic communication (and other innovative approaches), the contributors to this volume add to our understanding of which communicative strategies work best for athletes when their reputations are sullied. This comprehensive text presents case studies of varying athletes, sports, and public relations scenarios with prescriptive advice for those attempting to repair athletic reputations. The contributors variously explore such controversies and mischief as the steroids accusations lobbed at Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the Michael Phelps marijuana controversy, the sexual misconduct of Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant, and other topical subjects in sports communication and image repair. While this book will be useful for athletes, coaches, managers, and agents in varying athletic endeavors and levels, it is also a dream collection for teachers and scholars of sports communication. The subjects examined in this study span country, gender, and popularity of sport (not to mention a healthy variety of types of accusations.) Repairing the Athlete’s Image is an essential resource for graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses in sports communication and popular culture.

What the world can learn from Israel's meteoric economic success. Start-Up Nation addresses the trillion dollar question: How is it that Israel -- a country of 7.1 million, only 60 years old, surrounded by enemies, in a constant state of war since its founding, with no natural resources-- produces more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK? With the savvy of foreign policy insiders, Senor and Singer examine the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality-- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the "Israel effect", there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting. As America reboots its own economy and can-do spirit, there's never been a better time to look at this remarkable and resilient nation for some impressive, surprising clues.