Suchergebnisse

L'attuale realt`a imprenditoriale `e fortemente influenzata dalla dinamicit`a dei mercati e dai continui progressi tecnologici. Queste tendenze trovano pratica realizzazione nel modello di organizzazione flessibile, che punta a massimizzare la capacit`a di rispondere con efficacia alle sfide della complessit`a ambientale. La conoscenza, considerata un nuovo fattore di produzione, diventa un elemento chiave nei processi aziendali. Sempre di pi`u, negli ultimi anni `e cresciuta la consapevolezza delle imprese dell'effettivo valore di una corretta gestione della conoscenza. L'uso di strumenti propri del Knowledge Management nelle organizzazioni `e divenuto una pratica comune. Una caratteristica fondamentale della conoscenza, inoltre, `e l'essere strettamente legata alla capacit`a di compiere azioni. Solo chi conosce `e infatti capace di prendere le giuste decisioni ed agire di conseguenza. Prendere decisioni riguardanti sistemi complessi (come per esempio, gestire attivit`a organizzative e processi industriali o controllare dispositivi robotici in ambienti dinamici) `e un compito che, molto spesso, va oltre le capacit`a cognitive umane. Questo `e dovuto al fatto che le variabili che influenzano il sistema sono, generalmente, soggette a complesse interdipendenze. Per questo motivo predire il risultato finale pu`o risultare piuttosto complicato. Il giudizio di un esperto umano, dunque, si discosta dalla decisione ottima al crescere della complessit`a dei processi decisionali. In quelle situazioni in cui la precisione `e fondamentale, la qualit`a delle decisioni `e molto importante. Una sfida per la comunit`a scientifica `e infatti riuscire ad elaborare tecniche e modelli per superare il limite umano. Nella tesi presentata vengono affrontati essenzialmente due grossi problemi riguardanti le organizzazioni dell'Information and Communication Technology: il riuso del software e la selezione dei progetti aziendali. Il riuso del software (Software Reuse) non `e semplicemente un problema tecnico ma anche e soprattutto un problema di gestione della conoscenza. Il Riuso `e comunemente definito come un ulteriore utilizzo o un ripetuto uso di un artefatto. Un nuovo prodotto pu`o, quindi, essere realizzato utilizzando una serie di elementi (nel caso in esame, possono essere componenti software o hardware) prodotti in precedenza. Gestire in maniere efficiente la conoscenza aziendale permette, per esempio, di trovare possibili candidati per il riuso da un'apposita repository. La selezione dei progetti aziendali (Project Selection) riguarda la scelta della migliore tra le alternative possibili sulla base di un'analisi costi/benefici. Per decidere quali tra i progetti proposti `e pi`u conveniente sviluppare, occorre tenere in considerazione determinati fattori. Ogni progetto, infatti, ha una propria complessit`a e specifiche caratteristiche, per esempio vantaggi e svantaggi, benefici tangibili e non, costi, impegno di risorse umane e cosi via. La presente tesi propone un sistema per la gestione della conoscenza che affronta diversi aspetti del Knowledge Management, dalla rappresentazione della conoscenza ai processi decisionali (Decision Making). In particolare, `e mostrato come le ontologie sono applicabili ed effettivi mezzi per supportare la rappresentazione della conoscenza; come sia possibile ricercare componenti software riutilizzabili utilizzando un sistema esperto basato su regole; ed infine come le reti Bayesiane e i sistemi Fuzzy possono integrare conoscenza utile per il supporto alle decisioni in condizioni di incertezza. Il modello di ragionamento incerto che propongo tiene in considerazioni sia la vaghezza e la soggettivit`a del giudizio umano che l'aleatoriet`a di alcuni eventi che sono intrisecamente legati al mondo degli affari. Per questo motivo, sono state implementate tecniche di ragionamento fuzzy, tramite le quali il sistema deduce la complessit`a di un progetto software considerando una serie di fattori che influenzano un progetto. Inoltre, la realizzazione di una rete bayesiana permette di stimare la fattibilit`a di un dato progetto a partire dall'evidenza derivata dal ragionamento fuzzy. Il lavoro di ricerca condotto in questi anni di dottorato ed in questa tesi illustrato, ha portato alla realizzazione di Kromos, un sistema prodotto in collaborazione con il Dipartimento di Ingegneria Informatica dell'Universit`a di Palermo e di Sicilia e-Innovazione, una societ`a della Regione Sicilia finalizzata all'informatizzazione degli uffici della Pubblica Amministrazione. ; The modern business world is characterized by dynamic markets and continuous technological advances. To cope with these trends, organizations must become more flexible. The knowledge, considered as a new factor of production, becomes a key element in business processes. In the last few years, the enterprises awareness about the worth of a correct knowledge management is grown exponentially. The use of Knowledge Management tools within the organization is became a best practice. The knowledge, additionally, is strictly linked to the capability to perform effective actions. Who knows is able to make a correct decision and to act consequently. Making decisions concerning complex systems (e.g., the management of organizational activities, industrial processes or the control of robotic device in complex environment etc.) often is a task that exceeds human cognitive capabilities. This is because many variables of the system are involved in complex interdependencies and predicting the total outcome may be very difficult. The human intuitive judgment and decision making become far from optimal to grow of complexity of the decision process. In many situations the quality of decisions is important, overcoming the deficiencies of human judgment is an important issue in the scientific community. Two main problems concerning ICT enterprises are deeply addressed in this dissertation: Software Reuse and Project Selection. Software Reuse is not only a technology problem but fundamentally a knowledge management problem. Reuse can be defined as further use or repeated use of an artefact. A new product is created by taking applicable assets from the asset base. A correct knowledge management allows finding candidate assets for reuse from asset base. Project Selection concerns the choose of the best among alternative proposals on the basis of cost-benefit analysis. In order to decide which of the proposed projects should be selected, a number of factors must be considered. In fact, each project has its own complexity and includes environmental advantages and disadvantages, tangible and intangible benefits, costs, allocation of human and hardware resources and many others. In this thesis, I present a novel fusion of Artificial Intelligence techniques in order to cope different aspects of knowledge management from knowledge representation to decision making. I show how the ontologies are applicable and effective means for supporting knowledge representation, how to find reusable software components by means of a rule based expert system and how the Bayesian networks and Fuzzy systems can be integrate knowledge to support decision processes under uncertainty. I proposed a model for uncertainty reasoning, in order to cope not only to the unpredictability of some events that are intrinsically linked to the market environment, but also to overcome the vagueness and subjectivities of human judgments. This model is based on a fuzzy reasoning, which allows evaluating the complexity of an ICT projects unifying the contribution of several factors that complicate a project, and on a Bayesian network able to estimate the feasibility of a project on the basis of the evidence derived from fuzzy reasoning. This research was applied to the realization of Kromos, a product of collaboration between the Computer Engineering Department of Palermo University and the Sicilian local Government ICT society, Sicilia e-Innovazione.

Millainen on Euroopan unionin kansainvälinen asema? Onko Euroopan unionilla uskottavaa ulkopolitiikkaa? Vaikka Euroopan unioni on yksi maailman merkittävimmistä toimijoista kaupan ja kansainvälisen vaihdon alalla sekä maailman suurin avunantaja, vaikuttaa siltä, että poliittisesti sillä ei ole vaikutusvaltaa. Väitöskirjassani tutkin, onko talouden jättiläinen todellakin poliittinen kääpiö. Tutkimuskirjallisuutta analysoimalla olen etsinyt niitä EU:n piirteitä, joiden on nähty estävän unionia toimimasta todellisena kansainvälisenä toimijana; samalla olen pyrkinyt selittämään, millainen kokonaisuus EU on verrattuna tavanomaiseen ulkopoliittiseen toimijaan, valtioon, ja miten EU sopii kansainväliseen ympäristöön. Lopuksi tutkin EU:n politiikkaa laajentumisprosessissa, jossa jäseniksi otettiin Keski- ja Itä-Euroopan valtioita. EU:n ulkopolittisen toimijuuden esteinä on usein nähty puuttuva tai vaillinainen sotilaallinen aspekti ja heikko päätöksentekojärjestelmä. Kun ulkopolitiikka perinteisesti ymmärretään sotilaalliseksi toiminnaksi kriisitilanteissa, EU:n on nähty olevan kyvytön sekä määrittelemään intressinsä ja tekemään päätöksiä että toimimaan sotilaallisesti tilanteen ratkaisemiseksi. Miksi kansallisen identiteetin ja intressin puuttuminen sekä sotilaallisten toimintamahdollisuuksien vajavuus ovat niin merkittäviä ongelmia globalisoituvassa maailmassa, jossa taloudellisen vallan uskotaan olevan poliittista tärkeämpää? Kun valtiot yhä enenevässä määrin määrittelevät turvallisuusuhkansa toisin kuin sotilaallisin termein, miksi kyky sotilaalliseen toimintaan on yhä olennaista? Valtio on ollut kansainvälisen politiikan hallitseva toimija niin kauan, että meidän on vaikea tunnustaa, että tämän hetken kansainvälisessä politiikassa toimija tarvitsee erilaisia piirteitä kuin ne valtion tunnusomaiset piirteet ja kapasiteetit, joiden avulla se saattoi vahvistaa asemansa ensisijaisena toimijana. Tämän hetken kansainvälisessä järjestelmässä EU:n monenkeskisyyteen ja neuvotteluihin perustuva päätöksentekojärjestelmä saattaa osoittautua pikemminkin vahvuudeksi kuin heikoudeksi. Parhaassa tapauksessa EU pystyy hyväksikäyttämään globalisaation aiheuttamia muutoksia valtion suvereenisuuteen ja tehtäviin, ja rakentamaan tehokkaamman hallitsemisen järjestelmän. EU:n asema ei-valtiollisena toimijana mahdollistaa erilaisten toimijuuden tapojen käyttämisen, minkä seurauksena EU saattaa olla valtiota paremmin varustettu ratkaisemaan uusia turvallisuusuhkia vaikka unionin tavat vaikuttaa ovat näkymättömämpiä kuin sotilaallinen hyökkäys, ne eivät ole vailla vaikutusta. EU ei ole vähemmän kuin valtio, vaan enemmän. Sen kehitys vastaa kansainvälisen järjestelmän kehitystä ja vie sitä osaltaan poispäin valtiokeskeisyydestä. EU:n merkittävin ongelma ei ole sotilaallisen aspektin vajavaisuus, vaan se, miten rakentaa uskottava identiteetti ja saada kansalaisten kannatus Eurooppalaiselle hallinnolle. Tutkimus osoittaa, että vahvistaakseen kansainvälistä asemaansa EU:n ei tarvitse kehittää itseään federalistisempaan suuntaan, vaan käyttää hyväkseen globalisoituvan järjestelmän tarjoamia uusia mahdollisuuksia. ; Dwarf, adolescent or superpower? The European Union on the international field It seems to be a part of common knowledge that the European Union is an economic giant but a political dwarf. Although none can claim that the EU does not possess significant resources, for some reason these resources do not seem to help the EU to have much influence in foreign policy matters. Despite its large network of diplomatic relations, and its position as one of the most significant aid donors and trading partners in the world, many suggest that it has not succeeded in its attempts to develop its economic influence also into a political one. In my study I wish to examine if the EU is such an unfit actor on the international field. I will analyze how the international system (of states) defines the properties of actors, and how the definition is changing. There are two basic questions in this work: First, what position does the international system offer to the EU? Secondly, how does the EU utilize the position given to it? To find answers, I will examine a state as an actor, the international system of states, and the properties and actions of the EU. The EU in the system of states Since the international system is a system of states, the position of a state as a primary actor seems to be universal and eternal. In this thesis it is claimed that the EU is a new kind of a polity challenging the position of a Westphalian state. If the EU succeeds in this, it will have consequences for the whole international system. Yet, to be able to act in the system, the EU must not only challenge the position of a state, but also adapt to the requirements of the actorness; the EU must resemble a state in some respects to get recognized as an actor. There still is an on going test of statehood, and as long as the EU does not pass it, it is hard to consider it as an actor in its own right. The position of a state is connected to the development of the international system overall. The effects of globalization, modernization and democratization are creating new kinds of environments and cultures with new possibilities and threats. Increased interdependence between national economies and production added to the fact that all types of exchange are becoming ever more global restrict the ability of a state to act as fully sovereign . Globalisation includes many processes that affect the position of a state. The meaning of properties like sovereignty and military resources is changing, as well as a state s position on the international field. Change does not happen only inside a state and in its position, however, but also international structures change, affecting the way actors behave with each other. I claim that although the state is losing its position, it is still the dominant actor in international politics, and other polities hoping to get a position of an actor must be comparable with it: after all, structures do not change so quickly, and actors are constituted by them. The changing international context opens up the possibility to increase the importance of the EU. Sovereignty and military resources that once determined the state s position as a dominant actor have partly lost their meaning; not having them should not prevent the EU from being an actor. Furthermore, the EU might have properties that make it better capable to manage in the globalizing and fragmenting world. A foreign policy actor Rather than an international organization, the EU is a new type of political system, made up of national and European institutions that are constituted in relation to each other . The national institutions of member states and the EU institutions are so closely interwoven that they cannot be conceived as separate political systems. On the other hand, the EU is not a state, and we have many reasons to assume that it will not be one (unless the definition of a state changes). While it has some capabilities states traditionally own, it lacks others. This appears to make it an actor in some issue-areas, but not in all of them. Foreign policy has traditionally been connected to a state, it is concerned with the relation of a state to other states in the international system; it is connected to the idea of national aims and interests, and involves mobilizing national resources. Although foreign policy in its most visible form is high politics concerning high diplomacy and war, in practice most of the time it is low politics including low-level diplomatic practices between ministries and also economic policy as a means of reaching foreign policy aims. Foreign policy does not entail military force; as Karen Smith puts it, the recourse to military instruments can indicate a failure of foreign policy . In this work I will suggest that the reason why foreign policy is connected solely to states is not that making foreign policy is possible only for nation states and governments; rather it has to do with states position as primary actors in the international system. When certain conditions are metconcerning among others, a decision-making system non-state actors are also able to conduct foreign policy. There is no single EU foreign policy, but on some occasions member states agree on common interests and objectives, and mobilize national and collective resources to fulfill them: they conduct common foreign policy . For the EU, foreign policy means that its member states and institutions, to use Smith s words, have expressed a unified position in response to external events and/or formulated a plan of action directed towards the fulfillment of specified political/security objectives, and have agreed to use Community/CFSP instruments and/or instruments under national competence in a coordinated way to implement it . Even though the common foreign policy is important for the EU s ability to act as an actor, it must be put into the larger context of external relations, otherwise we fail to see the EU s importance on the international field. The division between political and economic matters has always been vague, but it is even more so at the time of globalization. It seems that those foreign policies connecting intergovernmental and community issue-areas, like the enlargement policy, have been among the most successful policies. The enlargement policy can be considered foreign and security policy because of its political and security-related aims, although the EU has applied the practices of the CFSP ­ common position and joint action ­ only a couple of times during many years of the enlargement policy. Although the EU may appear as a weak actor in high policy areas, it is an effective negotiator of low policy matters, including trade and aid, that belong to the Community issue-area . The EU does not act like a traditional foreign policy player. But what usually is seen as its weakness, may turn out to be a strength. In the contemporary international system it may be a benefit that an actor is able to take different forms in different situations, as the EU is forced to do due to its nature of lying between an international organization and a state. A civilian power There are certain requirements for an actor presented in the literature of IR, and usually these requirements do not include statehood or military resources. However, the polity´s own properties do not determinate totally the entity s position on the international field. Entry to the system is dependent on whether or not the other actors give recognition. It is claimed in this work that usually only states are recognized as actors, but even though the EU is not a state, it has at least partial recognition in practice, since it is accepted as a partner in negotiations, diplomatic relations, trade and aid. But the EU seems to suffer from a lack of credibility, or prestige that prevents it from having much of an influence especially in international crises, like in the Palestinian question. Still, by recognizing the EU as an actor in its own right ­ even partially states decrease the significance of sovereignty, and weaken their own position as primary actors. Hence, the EU may change the structure of the international system, and make room for other polities too; or, it may become a state. One possible direction of developing the EU is to strengthen its image as a civilian power. According to Hans W. Maull, a civilian power accepts the necessity of cooperation with other actors when pursuing international objectives; utilizes non-military, primarily economic means to secure its goals; and is willing to develop supranational structures to address critical issues of international management. In this thesis the term civilian power refers to an actor who trusts in cooperation, respects and enforces international values and norms as defined by international institutions and treaties, and acts through diplomacy, economic means and international institutions. Manners suggests, on the other hand, that the EU may be more important normatively than in an empirical way, since it sets normative world standards. He continues that due to its power over opinion , idée force , or ideological power , the EU would best be conceived as a normative power Europe. The EU s normative power is a significant dimension of this thesis, but I will also examine other ways of using power including the Union s foreign policy instruments. I agree with Manners that the EU s ability to shape conceptions of normality in international relations is what makes it a normative power , but I suggest that it is a part of its special nature as a civilian power ­ although also military powers may use and have used normative power. The EU clearly attempts to gain legitimacy through expansion of democratic and human rights norms, but this is not the whole picture of the EU. It is difficult to evaluate in which direction the EU will develop; even more difficult is to describe the outcome of European integration. More than a state I will propose that the EU lacks some of the properties of a state ­ although I do not see that the difference is so remarkable in the end ­ but that it does not make the EU an unfit actor in the international system; quite the contrary, the European integration includes elements that may make the EU better suitable to the international system than the traditional sovereign state. Hence, it will be suggested that instead of being less than a state the EU is actually more than a state. Within changing structure of the international system, resources and properties of states ­ sovereignty, structure of hierarchy and military resources, among others ­ will not be so significant that they guarantee the state s dominant position; quite the contrary, the strong actor have to be able to handle with global capitalism, regionalism, interdependence, and security threats raising from various sources. When the system has been increasingly perceived as interdependent, and states ability to govern has been deemed to be in question, an entity like the EU seems to be well placed to act on behalf of its members as a manager of the interdependence. Through European integration we also may find new answers to some of the problems caused by the nature of the international system itself. In this connection I will especially consider democracy and security issues, although there exists other similar issues too, for example minorities and refugees. The EU might be ­ or it might become - the first truly post-modern polity, and it is impossible to explain its significance by concentrating only on its CFSP. The change of the international system is important in giving room for an actor like the EU, but structures do not totally create actorness; the development and action of the EU reflects the dynamic relationship between structures and agency. The EU is born from the combination of external demand and opportunities, and political will and imagination of its founders. Hence, the importance of the EU cannot be evaluated by studying either its internal capacities or external opportunities; they both together create the EU s capacity to act and have an influence on the international field. Yet, internal factors associated with legitimacy and efficacy of policy processes influence the perceptions other actors have of the EU, and create expectations of the EU s ability to act. Additionally, states must create new ways of acting in the changing international system, this suggests that our picture of an actor and its ways of having an influence and making policy may be at least partially out-dated. I wish to suggest that by studying the EU within an approach that takes both structures and internal capabilities into consideration we might get new ideas about actorness overall.

Overview: This study traces the origins and development of the Gambit and Hexagon programs. It details the technological problems, breakthroughs, and accomplishments encountered as NRO, CIA, Air Force, and private industry engineers, designers, and program managers pushed the cutting edge of space reconnaissance technology. It outlines the evolving close partnership and working relationship between the NRO and industry in pursuing far-reaching scientific and technological goals. This study also describes the bureaucratic battle among the CIA, the NRO, and the Air Force over control and management of these systems. Finally, it places the development of these unique satellite systems squarely in the crisis atmosphere of the Cold War and the constant demands of U S officials for more and better pictures. It is a remarkable story. ; Shipping list no.: 2012-0217-P. ; "January 2012." ; Section 5: Systems Contributions: -- Report: Analysis of Gambit Project, 24 August 1967 -- Report: Analysis of Gambit (110) Project, Brigadier General William G King, 28 April 1970 -- Report Excerpts: Program 206-II System Performance, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Company, undated -- Letter: Major Factors Contributing to Program 206-II Success written to Alexander Flax, 13 November 1966 -- Memorandum: Innovations, and trends in exploitation in the Western Geographic Division, IEG caused by the KH-9 System, 20 March 1973 -- Report: The KH-9 Search and MC & G Performance Study (Volume II), National Photographic Interpretation Center, October 1977 -- Section 6: Program Controversies: -- Report: US Air Force, Minutes of Joint Meeting of Reconnaissance Panel and SAMOS Working Group, 1 July 1960 -- Memorandum: National Reconnaissance Office, Approval to Re-Orient Program 206 to Air Retrieval Over Pacific Area, 19 September 1962 -- Memorandum: Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Brockway McMillan for the Vice Chief of Staff, USAF, Space Recovery Responsibility, 18 October 1963 -- Letter: Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Brockway McMillan to Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Director of Science and Technology Albert Wheelon, Concerning the Establishment of the Satellite Photography Working Group, 18 November 1963 -- Memorandum: Colonel Paul E Worthman Memorandum for the Record, Telephone Conversations with Representatives of the Itek Corporation, 24 February 1965 -- Memorandum: Colonel Paul E Worthman Memorandum for the Record, Itek Discussions with Dr McMillan and Dr Land, 25 February 1965 -- Memorandum: DNRO Brockway McMillan Memorandum for the Record, Discussion with Itek Leadership and Pullout from Fulcrum Follow-on, 25 February 1965 -- Memorandum: Fulcrum Program Manager Jackson D Maxey to Deputy Director for Science and Technology, Ground Rules for the New Search System Competition, 2 August 1965 -- Memorandum: John Martin, SAFSP Director to Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Dr Alexander Flax, Comments on Alternate Management Arrangements for the New Photographic Satellite Search and Surveillance System, 4 November 1965 -- Memorandum: Huntington D Sheldon CIA's Director of Reconnaissance to the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Alexander Flax-CIA Comments Concerning Alternative Management Arrangements for the New Photographic Satellite Search and Surveillance System, 4 November 1965 -- Memorandum: Brigadier General James T Stewart, Director of NRO Staff Department of the Air Force for Dr Alexander Flax, Task Group Report for Alternative Management Arrangements for the New Photographic Search and Surveillance System, 5 November 1965 -- Letter: Acting Director of CIA Rufus Taylor to Director of Bureau of the Budget Charles Zwick, Concerning Memorandum Regarding FY1970 Hexagon Funding, 20 December 1968 -- Letter: Robert Mayo Bureau of the Budget to Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms, Concerning Assessment of Hexagon Contributions, 22 March 1969 -- Report: Deputy Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Robert Naka, Report of the Hexagon Review Committee, 4 September 1969 -- Letter: CIA Program Manager Robert Kohler, Concerning the Reliability of Corona, Gambit, and Hexagon Film Return Systems, 20 February 1973 -- Section 7: Program Congratulations: -- Letter: Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms to Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Dr Alexander Flax, Congratulations on First KH-8 Mission, 18 August 1966 -- Letter: Director of Central Intelligence William Casey, Commendation for the Operation of Hexagon Mission 1217, 3 January 1983 -- Memorandum: Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Edward C Aldridge, Letter of Appreciation from the Director of Central Intelligence William Casey, 7 January 1983 -- Report: National Reconnaissance Office, Hexagon Transition Plan, March 1972. ; Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- Section 1: History By Gerald Haines, PH D: -- Gambit -- Hexagon -- Conclusion -- Endnotes -- Section 2: Systems Requirements: -- Report: U S Air Force, General Operational Requirements for a Reconnaissance Satellite Weapon System, 26 September 1958 -- Memorandum: Air Force, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Major General James H Walsh, Intelligence Requirements for SENTRY, 10 November 1958 -- Report: CIA Director Allen W Dulles, Intelligence Requirements for Satellite Reconnaissance Systems of Which Samos is an Example, 5 July 1960 -- Report: Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Report of a Special Panel on Satellite Reconnaissance, 25 August 1960 -- Memorandum and Report: Edward Purcell to the Director of Central Intelligence, Panel for Future Satellite Reconnaissance Operations, 3 July 1963 -- Memorandum and Attachments: United States Intelligence Board, Long-Range Requirements for Satellite Photographic Collection, 27, July 1964 -- Memorandum: United States Intelligence Board, Long-Range Requirements for Satellite Photographic Collection, 31 July 1964 -- Section 3: Program Initialization: -- Organizational Instruction: Operational Order for the Satellite and Missile Observation System, Lieutenant General Bernard A Schriever, undated -- Organizational Instruction: The Basic Policy Concerning SAMOS, Memorandum from Major General R M Montgomery, 29 December 1960 -- Security Instruction: Security Guidance of an Unclassified Nature Relating to SAMOS, Colonel Harry L Evans, undated -- Letter: Kodak's Arthur B Simmons to Air Force Undersecretary for Research and Development Joseph V Charyk, Preliminary Schedules for Blanket and Sunset Strip, 22 July 1960 -- Report: Major General O J Ritland, Project Cue Ball: Outline Development Plan, 9 November 1961 -- Report: Colonel William G King, Program Management Plan, Project G-3, 1 February 1966 -- Report: CIA Directorate of Science and Technology, Preliminary Project Fulcrum Phase 1 Tasking, 1 July 1964 -- Memorandum: CIA Deputy Director for Science and Technology Albert D Wheelon to the Director of Central Intelligence, Project FULCRUM, 30 September 1964 -- Memorandum: Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Alexander Flax to Director of Special Projects, SAF and Director of Reconnaissance, CIA, System Operational Requirements for the New Search and Surveillance System, 29 April 1966 -- Letter: President of the Perkin-Elmer Corporation Chester W Nimitz, Jr, Cover Letter for Design Definition of Hexagon Optical Sensor, 21 July 1966 -- Section 4: Systems Capabilities: -- Technical Document: KH-7 Camera System (Part 1), National Photographic Interpretation Center, July 1963 -- Technical Document: The KH-8B Camera System (Third Edition), National Reconnaissance Office and National Photographic Interpretation Center, October 1970 -- Briefing Book: Project Hexagon Overview, National Reconnaissance Office, 25 January 1978. ; Overview: This study traces the origins and development of the Gambit and Hexagon programs. It details the technological problems, breakthroughs, and accomplishments encountered as NRO, CIA, Air Force, and private industry engineers, designers, and program managers pushed the cutting edge of space reconnaissance technology. It outlines the evolving close partnership and working relationship between the NRO and industry in pursuing far-reaching scientific and technological goals. This study also describes the bureaucratic battle among the CIA, the NRO, and the Air Force over control and management of these systems. Finally, it places the development of these unique satellite systems squarely in the crisis atmosphere of the Cold War and the constant demands of U S officials for more and better pictures. It is a remarkable story. ; Mode of access: Internet.

Hate speech has become a global concern. Nations worldwide in one way or another have to grapple with the enormous problem of this phenomenon, which is predominantly perpetrated through new media or online media platforms. In Nigeria, the situation is such that governments at the federal and state levels have continued to express concern over the growing wave of hate speech in the country. While technology propels this phenomenon, technology may just be the solution. Technology has no doubt continued to offer humanity several possibilities to better human existence. Increasingly, it is becoming an indispensable part of the daily life of individuals. The mobile phone, for instance, is used as a typewriter, a calculator, a calendar, a time piece, a communication system, an interactive database, a decision-support system and much more. In recent times, the insatiable drive for technology has reached a point where devices act intelligently. These intelligent systems are rapidly developing for use to enhance human endeavours. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, driven by big data, are fuelling unprecedented changes in many facets of human endeavours. Many achievements using AI techniques surpass human capabilities. If machines can recognise speech and transcribe it - just like typists did in the past - if computers can accurately identify faces or fingerprints from among millions, cars drive themselves and robots fight wars, among other remarkable things, there is no doubt there would be a way round the complex challenge of hate speech. Therefore, this study examines the inherent possibilities of AI for mitigating hate speech in Nigeria. ; El discurs d'odi s'ha convertit en una preocupació global. Les nacions mundials d'una manera o d'una altra han d'afrontar l'enorme problema d'aquest fenomen, perpetrat majoritàriament a través de nous mitjans de comunicació o plataformes de comunicació en línia. A Nigèria, la situació és tal que els governs dels nivells federal i estatal han continuat manifestant la seva preocupació per la creixent onada de discurs d'odi al país. Si bé la tecnologia propicia aquest fenomen, la tecnologia podria ser la solució. La tecnologia, sens dubte, ha continuat oferint a la humanitat diverses possibilitats per a una millor existència humana. Cada vegada s'està convertint en una part indispensable del dia a dia dels individus. El telèfon mòbil, per exemple, ha esdevingut imprescindible en la nostra vida quotidiana. S'utilitza com a màquina d'escriure, calculadora, calendari, rellotge, sistema de comunicació, base de dades interactiva, sistema de suport de decisions i molt més. En els darrers temps, l'impuls insaciable per la tecnologia ha arribat a un punt en què els dispositius actuen de manera intel·ligent. Els sistemes intel·ligents es desenvolupen ràpidament per utilitzar-los per millorar els esforços humans. Les tecnologies d'intel·ligència artificial (IA), impulsades per dades massives, estan alimentant un canvi sense precedents en moltes facetes dels esforços humans. Molts assoliments que utilitzen tècniques d'IA superen les capacitats humanes. Si les màquines poden reconèixer la parla i transcriure-la, tal com ho feien els mecanògrafs del passat, si els ordinadors poden identificar amb exactitud rostres o empremtes dactilars entre milions, si els cotxes es condueixen ells mateixos i si els robots estan lluitant en guerres, entre altres coses destacables, no hi ha dubte que hi ha una manera d'evitar el complex desafiament del discurs d'odi. Per tant, aquest estudi examina les possibilitats inherents a la intel·ligència artificial per mitigar el discurs d'odi a Nigèria. ; El discurso de odio se ha convertido en una preocupación mundial. Las naciones de todo el mundo de una forma u otra tienen que lidiar con el enorme problema de este fenómeno, predominantemente perpetrado a través de nuevos medios o plataformas de medios en línea. En Nigeria, la situación es tal que los gobiernos de los niveles federal y estatal han seguido expresando preocupación por la creciente ola de discurso de odio en el país. Si bien la tecnología impulsa este fenómeno, la tecnología podría ser la solución. La tecnología, sin duda, ha continuado ofreciendo a la humanidad varias posibilidades para mejorar la existencia humana. Cada vez más se está convirtiendo en una parte indispensable de la vida diaria de las personas. El teléfono móvil, por ejemplo, se ha vuelto indispensable en nuestra vida cotidiana. Se utiliza como máquina de escribir, calculadora, calendario, reloj, sistema de comunicación, base de datos interactiva, sistema de soporte de decisiones y mucho más. En los últimos tiempos, el impulso insaciable por la tecnología ha llegado a un punto en el que los dispositivos actúan de manera inteligente. Los sistemas inteligentes se están desarrollando rápidamente para mejorar los esfuerzos humanos. Las tecnologías de inteligencia artificial (IA), impulsadas por macrodatos, están impulsando cambios sin precedentes en muchas facetas de los esfuerzos humanos. Muchos logros que utilizan técnicas de IA superan las capacidades humanas. Si las máquinas pueden reconocer el discurso y transcribirlo, tal como lo hicieron los mecanógrafos en el pasado, si las computadoras pueden identificar con precisión rostros o huellas dactilares de entre millones, si los coches se conducen solos y si los robots están peleando en guerras, entre otras cosas notables, no hay duda de que hay una forma de sortear el complejo desafío del discurso de odio. Por lo tanto, este estudio examina las posibilidades inherentes a la inteligencia artificial para mitigar el discurso de odio en Nigeria.

Hate speech has become a global concern. Nations worldwide in one way or another have to grapple with the enormous problem of this phenomenon, which is predominantly perpetrated through new media or online media platforms. In Nigeria, the situation is such that governments at the federal and state levels have continued to express concern over the growing wave of hate speech in the country. While technology propels this phenomenon, technology may just be the solution. Technology has no doubt continued to offer humanity several possibilities to better human existence. Increasingly, it is becoming an indispensable part of the daily life of individuals. The mobile phone, for instance, is used as a typewriter, a calculator, a calendar, a time piece, a communication system, an interactive database, a decision-support system and much more. In recent times, the insatiable drive for technology has reached a point where devices act intelligently. These intelligent systems are rapidly developing for use to enhance human endeavours. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, driven by big data, are fuelling unprecedented changes in many facets of human endeavours. Many achievements using AI techniques surpass human capabilities. If machines can recognise speech and transcribe it – just like typists did in the past – if computers can accurately identify faces or fingerprints from among millions, cars drive themselves and robots fight wars, among other remarkable things, there is no doubt there would be a way round the complex challenge of hate speech. Therefore, this study examines the inherent possibilities of AI for mitigating hate speech in Nigeria. ; El discurs d'odi s'ha convertit en una preocupació global. Les nacions mundials d'una manera o d'una altra han d'afrontar l'enorme problema d'aquest fenomen, perpetrat majoritàriament a través de nous mitjans de comunicació o plataformes de comunicació en línia. A Nigèria, la situació és tal que els governs dels nivells federal i estatal han continuat manifestant la seva preocupació per la creixent onada de discurs d'odi al país. Si bé la tecnologia propicia aquest fenomen, la tecnologia podria ser la solució. La tecnologia, sens dubte, ha continuat oferint a la humanitat diverses possibilitats per a una millor existència humana. Cada vegada s'està convertint en una part indispensable del dia a dia dels individus. El telèfon mòbil, per exemple, ha esdevingut imprescindible en la nostra vida quotidiana. S'utilitza com a màquina d'escriure, calculadora, calendari, rellotge, sistema de comunicació, base de dades interactiva, sistema de suport de decisions i molt més. En els darrers temps, l'impuls insaciable per la tecnologia ha arribat a un punt en què els dispositius actuen de manera intel·ligent. Els sistemes intel·ligents es desenvolupen ràpidament per utilitzar-los per millorar els esforços humans. Les tecnologies d'intel·ligència artificial (IA), impulsades per dades massives, estan alimentant un canvi sense precedents en moltes facetes dels esforços humans. Molts assoliments que utilitzen tècniques d'IA superen les capacitats humanes. Si les màquines poden reconèixer la parla i transcriure-la, tal com ho feien els mecanògrafs del passat, si els ordinadors poden identificar amb exactitud rostres o empremtes dactilars entre milions, si els cotxes es condueixen ells mateixos i si els robots estan lluitant en guerres, entre altres coses destacables, no hi ha dubte que hi ha una manera d'evitar el complex desafiament del discurs d'odi. Per tant, aquest estudi examina les possibilitats inherents a la intel·ligència artificial per mitigar el discurs d'odi a Nigèria. ; El discurso de odio se ha convertido en una preocupación mundial. Las naciones de todo el mundo de una forma u otra tienen que lidiar con el enorme problema de este fenómeno, predominantemente perpetrado a través de nuevos medios o plataformas de medios en línea. En Nigeria, la situación es tal que los gobiernos de los niveles federal y estatal han seguido expresando preocupación por la creciente ola de discurso de odio en el país. Si bien la tecnología impulsa este fenómeno, la tecnología podría ser la solución. La tecnología, sin duda, ha continuado ofreciendo a la humanidad varias posibilidades para mejorar la existencia humana. Cada vez más se está convirtiendo en una parte indispensable de la vida diaria de las personas. El teléfono móvil, por ejemplo, se ha vuelto indispensable en nuestra vida cotidiana. Se utiliza como máquina de escribir, calculadora, calendario, reloj, sistema de comunicación, base de datos interactiva, sistema de soporte de decisiones y mucho más. En los últimos tiempos, el impulso insaciable por la tecnología ha llegado a un punto en el que los dispositivos actúan de manera inteligente. Los sistemas inteligentes se están desarrollando rápidamente para mejorar los esfuerzos humanos. Las tecnologías de inteligencia artificial (IA), impulsadas por macrodatos, están impulsando cambios sin precedentes en muchas facetas de los esfuerzos humanos. Muchos logros que utilizan técnicas de IA superan las capacidades humanas. Si las máquinas pueden reconocer el discurso y transcribirlo, tal como lo hicieron los mecanógrafos en el pasado, si las computadoras pueden identificar con precisión rostros o huellas dactilares de entre millones, si los coches se conducen solos y si los robots están peleando en guerras, entre otras cosas notables, no hay duda de que hay una forma de sortear el complejo desafío del discurso de odio. Por lo tanto, este estudio examina las posibilidades inherentes a la inteligencia artificial para mitigar el discurso de odio en Nigeria.

[spa] La relación médico paciente (RMP) es una relación interpersonal asimétrica que nace del encuentro entre médico y paciente, produce resultados y se desarrolla en tres dimensiones: individual, económica y social. El diagnóstico y el tratamiento son los resultados más considerados, pero no los únicos. Satisfacción, experiencia, adherencia y adhesión al tratamiento, continuidad, uso de los servicios de urgencia o acceso a los recursos sociales, son resultados que el paciente vive en términos de salud y de bienestar mientras que el financiador los traduce en términos de consumo de recursos. El financiador no considera estos productos de la RMP igual que aquellos, tiende a juzgarlos resultados tangenciales de la RMP y los desatiende por considerarlos indirectamente relacionados con ella, pese a que revelan la perspectiva del paciente. La complejidad de la atención contribuye a infravalorar dichos resultados al multiplicar los interlocutores del paciente y difuminar los resultados. Muchos promotores de la RMP piensan que potenciarla solo aporta beneficios marginales; aunque esa visión contradiga los hallazgos de los estudios sobre continuidad, coste de la atención a enfermedades crónicas o los obtenidos en términos de seguridad. Mediante su propia experiencia, el paciente protagoniza la RMP y la enriquece con valores cualitativos, como la necesidad de adecuarla a la situación propia, su voluntad y sus expectativas. La RMP se enmarca dentro de la actividad profesional del médico que se rige por obligaciones éticas, técnicas y por condicionantes económicos. La asimetría de poder en la RMP es debida al desequilibrio entre el estado de necesidad de la persona que busca ayuda sanitaria frente al profesional, poseedor de la autoridad y el poder conferidos por los conocimientos de la Medicina y el Estado. Para reducir esa asimetría se intenta contrapesar el poder del médico mediante disposiciones sociales, legales y personales. La confianza sustenta la RMP como manifiesta la custodia del cuerpo y de la información que surge por la intervención médica, sin embargo, aumenta la vulnerabilidad del paciente. Los conflictos de interés relacionados con los honorarios o con la promoción social o académica ponen en entredicho la confianza hacia el médico o hacia la profesión, al igual que el uso inadecuado de los conocimientos de la Medicina puede lesionar al paciente, al médico, a la profesión y a la sociedad. En el espacio de la RMP se toman decisiones que implican a la salud y a la vida del paciente, a la economía y la sociedad. Sobre los protagonistas se ejercen presiones, internas y externas, para que la RMP incorpore a terceros, con voz, voto y sin riesgos y puedan intervenir en la toma de decisiones, incluso en su propio beneficio en lugar del paciente. Estas presiones se ejercen directa e indirectamente mediante: los honorarios; la publicidad; las organizaciones gubernamentales; las leyes; los pacientes, sus asociaciones y las medidas que potencian su autonomía; la formación médica o los lobby. Todas ellas pueden lesionar al paciente, al médico, a la profesión, al conocimiento médico y a la sociedad, desembocando, además, en una práctica defensiva de la Medicina. ; [eng] The doctor-patient relationship (DPR) is an asymmetric interpersonal relationship that emerges when doctors and patients meet, produces outcomes and develops in three dimensions: individual, economic and social. Diagnosis and treatment are the outcomes most often considered but these are not the only ones. Satisfaction, experience, adherence and adhesion to treatment, continuity, the use of emergency services or access to social resources, are outcomes that patients live through in terms of health and well-being, while financial bodies analyze this factors in terms of resource consumption. The funder does not consider these second group of outcomes in the same way as diagnosis and treatment, tend to judge them as peripheral outcomes and neglect it because they are only considered indirectly related to DPR, and despite the fact that they reveal the patient's perspective. Health assistance complexity contributes to the undervaluing of these outcomes due to the proliferation of concerned partner and outcome blurring. Many promoters of DPR think that its enhancement brings only a minor benefits; although this point of view contradicts the findings of studies on continuity, cost of attention to chronic diseases and others studies related to safety. Through their own experience, the patient must own and lead the DPR and enrich it with qualitative values, such as the need to adapt to their own situation, wills and expectations. The DPR is framed within the professional activity of doctors that is ruled by ethical and technical obligations and by economic considerations. There is a power asymmetry due to imbalance caused by the needs of people looking for health care versus the professional, holder of the authority and power conferred by the knowledge of Medicine and the State. To reduce the asymmetry attempts are made to counterweigh the power of the doctor through social, legal and personal provisions. Trust underpins the DPR which is reflected in their responsibility for the care of the body and for the information that arises from medical intervention, nevertheless, the vulnerability of the patient increases. The conflicts of interest related to medical fees or to social or academic promotion raise doubts about the trust for the doctor or for the profession, as the improper use of medical knowledge can injure the patient, the doctor, the profession and the society. In the DPR's domain decisions are taken that involve the health and life of a patient, the economy and society. Pressures are exerted on the protagonists, both internal and external, so that DPR incorporates third-party voices, votes and without risks, can intervene in the decisions-making process, even to their own benefit in replacing the patient. These pressures are exerted directly and indirectly through: fees; advertising; governmental organizations; law; patients, their associations and measures to enhance patient autonomy; medical training or lobbies. All of them can injure the patient, the doctor, the profession, the medical knowledge attained and society, leading, additionally, to a defensive practice in Medicine. ; [cat] La relació metge-pacient (RMP) és una relació interpersonal asimètrica que neix de la trobada entre metge i pacient, produeix resultats i es desenvolupa en tres dimensions: individual, econòmica i social. El diagnòstic i tractament són els resultats més considerats, però no els únics. Satisfacció, experiència, adherència i adhesió al tractament, continuïtat, ús dels serveis d'urgència o accés als recursos socials, són resultats que el pacient viu en termes de salut i benestar mentre que el finançador els tradueix a termes de consum de recursos. El finançador no considera aquests productes de la RMP igual que aquells, tendeix a jutjar-los resultats tangencials de la RMP i els desatén perquè els considera només indirectament relacionats amb ella, tot i que revelen la perspectiva del pacient. La complexitat de l'atenció, que multiplica els interlocutors del pacient i difumina els resultats, contribueix a infravalorar aquests resultats. Molts promotors de la RMP pensen que potenciar-la només aporta beneficis marginals; malgrat que aquesta visió contradiu les troballes dels estudis sobre continuïtat, cost de l'atenció a les malalties cròniques o els obtinguts en termes de seguretat. Mitjançant la pròpia experiència, el pacient protagonitza la RMP i l'enriqueix amb valors qualitatius com la necessitat d'adequar-la a la situació pròpia, la seva voluntat o les seves expectatives. La RMP s'emmarca dins de les activitats professionals del metge que es regeix per obligacions ètiques, tècniques i per condicionants econòmics. L' asimetria de poder dins la RMP és deguda al desequilibri entre l'estat de necessitat de la persona que busca ajuda sanitària i, en front, el professional, posseïdor de l'autoritat i el poder que li confereixen els coneixements de la Medicina i l'Estat. Per reduir-ne l' asimetria s'intenta contrapesar el poder del metge mitjançant disposicions socials, legals i personals. La confiança sustenta la RMP i això es fa palès amb la custòdia del cos i de la informació que aporta la intervenció mèdica però augmenta la vulnerabilitat del pacient. Els conflictes d'interès, relacionats amb els honoraris o amb la promoció social o acadèmica, posen en perill la confiança amb el metge o amb la professió, a l'igual de l'ús inadequat dels coneixements de la Medicina que pot lesionar al pacient, al metge, a la professió i a la societat. Dins l'espai de la RMP es prenen decisions que impliquen a la salut i a la vida del pacient, a l'economia i a la societat. Sobre els protagonistes s'exerceixen pressions, internes i externes, perquè la RMP incorpori terceres persones, amb veu, vot i sense riscos i puguin intervenir a la presa de decisions, inclús en el seu propi benefici substituint al del pacient. Aquestes pressions s'exerceixen directament i indirecta mitjançant: els honoraris; la publicitat; les organitzacions governamentals; las lleis; els pacients, les seves associacions y les mesures que potencien la seva autonomia; la formació o els lobby. Totes elles poden lesionar al pacient, al metge, a la professió al coneixement mèdic i a la societat, desembocant, a més, en una pràctica defensiva de la Medicina.

The article deals with discussing scientific, practical and methodological approaches to determining the assessment of countries' energy security and reliability, regardless of whether they have their own energy resources or importing it. To ensure their own economic and energy security, each state must constantly implement legal, economic and administrative measures aimed at protecting its national interests, while relying on a long-term strategy.It's worth noting the fact that the definition of the category "energy security" should contain technological and economic components, combined in some way. That is, in the modern sense, the energy security guarantee is the achievement of a technically reliable, stable, costeffective and environmentally balanced provision of energy resources to the needs of the economy and the population, as well as the creation of conditions for the formation and implementation of a policy to protect national interests in the energy sector.The article discusses indicators that contribute to the growth of economic stability of energy enterprises and, consequently, countries' energy security. With the help of these indicators, the capabilities of the selected outsourcers are compared, and also analyzes the feasibility of a contract form or the feasibility of creating a separate enterprise, on the basis of which the existing divisions for the production of energy products of diversified production, will ensure the country's energy security. The article emphasizes 3 countries with the highest level of energy security – the UK, Russia and Belgium. Russia due to natural resources, Great Britain and Belgium due to internal economic potential. The European Union is forced to import almost all energy resources and ensuring energy security has become a critical issue on the European Union agenda. The EU has the largest energy supplies among the regions of the world, approximately 15% of the entire world market. At the same time, the gap between production and consumption of solid fuel is very large, more than in the United States. The main supplier of Europe is Russia, which to some extent puts European countries in a dependent position. Therefore, an important area of European policy is the energy supplies diversification and ensuring the country's energy security. From the point of view of determining the future role of energy carriers in the European countries energy supply, it is important to evaluate the main factors that determined considered in the article trends in world energy consumption. It is worth noting that almost every energy carrier has a technological niche, where its use is predominant or even exclusive. Therefore, it is very important for the countries of the European Union to achieve the highest level of energy security and independence. ; В статье рассмотрены научно-практические и методические подходы к определению оценки энергетической безопасности и надёжности стран, не зависимо, имеют они собственные энергоресурсы, или их импортируют. Для обеспечения собственной экономической и энергетической безопасности каждое государство должно постоянно осуществлять правовые, экономические и административные меры, направленные на защиту своих национальных интересов, опираясь при этом на долгосрочную стратегическую цель.Особо следует отметить тот факт, что определение категории «энергетическая безопасность», должно включать технологические и экономические компоненты. То есть, в современном понимании гарантирование энергетической безопасности – это достижение состояния технически надёжного, стабильного, экономически эффективного и экологически сбалансированного обеспечения энергетическими ресурсами потребностей экономики и населения, а также создание условий для формирования и реализации политики защиты национальных интересов в сфере энергетики.В статье рассмотрены показатели, способствующие росту экономической стабильности энергетических предприятий и как следствие – энергетической безопасности стран. С помощью этих показателей, сопоставляются возможности избранных аутсорсеров, а также анализируется целесообразность подрядной формы или целесообразность создания отдельного предприятия, на базе которого существующие подразделения по изготовлению энергетической продукции диверсифицированного производства, будут обеспечивать энергетическую безопасность страны. В статье выделены 3 страны с наибольшим уровнем энергетической безопасности – Великобритания, Россия и Бельгия. Россия за счёт природных ресурсов, Великобритания и Бельгия за счёт внутреннего экономического потенциала. Европейский Союз вынужден импортировать практически все энергоресурсы и обеспечение энергетической безопасности стало важнейшим вопросом повестки дня Европейского союза. ЕС имеет самые крупные поставки энергоресурсов среди регионов мира, приблизительно 15% всего мирового рынка. В то же время разрыв между производством и потреблением твёрдого топлива очень велик, больше чем в США. Основным поставщиком Европы является Россия, что в некоторой степени ставит европейские страны в зависимое положение. Поэтому важным направлением европейской политики является диверсификация поставок энергоносителей и обеспечение энергетической безопасности страны. С точки зрения определения будущей роли энергоносителей в энергообеспечении стран Европы важно оценить главные факторы, которые обусловили рассмотренные в статье тенденции мирового энергопотребления. Стоит отметить, что практически каждый из энергоносителей имеет технологическую нишу, где его использование является преобладающим или даже исключительным. Поэтому очень важно для стран Европейского Союза добиться наивысшего уровня показателя энергетической безопасности и независимости страны. ; У статті розглянуті науково-практичні та методичні підходи до визначення оцінки енергетичної безпеки і надійності країн, не залежно, мають вони власні енергоресурси, або їх імпортують. Для забезпечення власної економічної та енергетичної безпеки кожна держава повинна постійно здійснювати правові, економічні та адміністративні заходи, спрямовані на захист своїх національних інтересів, спираючись при цьому на довгострокову стратегію.Особливо слід відзначити той факт, що визначення категорії «енергетична безпека», має містити технологічні та економічні компоненти. Тобто, в сучасному розумінні гарантування енергетичної безпеки – це досягнення стану технічно надійного, стабільного, економічно ефективного та екологічно збалансованого забезпечення енергетичними ресурсами потреб економіки і населення, а також створення умов для формування і реалізації політики захисту національних інтересів у сфері енергетики.У статті розглянуті показники, що сприяють зростанню економічної стабільності енергетичних підприємств і як наслідок – енергетичної безпеки країн. За допомогою цих показників, зіставляються можливості обраних аутсорсерів, а також аналізується доцільність підрядної форми або доцільність створення окремого підприємства, на базі якого існуючі підрозділи з виготовлення енергетичної продукції диверсифікованого виробництва, будуть забезпечувати енергетичну безпеку країни. У статті виділено 3 країни з найбільшим рівнем енергетичної безпеки – Великобританія, Росія та Бельгія. Росія за рахунок природних ресурсів, Великобританія і Бельгія за рахунок внутрішнього економічного потенціалу. Європейський Союз змушений імпортувати практично всі енергоресурси і забезпечення енергетичної безпеки стало найважливішим питанням порядку денного Європейського Союзу. ЄС має найбільші поставки енергоресурсів серед регіонів світу, приблизно 15% всього світового ринку. У той же час розрив між виробництвом і споживанням твердого палива дуже великий, більше ніж в США. Основним постачальником Європи є Росія, що в деякій мірі ставить європейські країни в залежне становище. Тому важливим напрямком європейської політики є диверсифікація поставок енергоносіїв і забезпечення енергетичної безпеки країни. З точки зору визначення майбутньої ролі енергоносіїв в енергозабезпеченні країн Європи важливо оцінити головні чинники, які зумовили розглянуті в статті тенденції світового енергоспоживання. Варто відзначити, що практично кожен з енергоносіїв має технологічну нішу, де його використання є переважаючим або навіть винятковим. Тому дуже важливо для країн Європейського Союзу домогтися найвищого рівня показника енергетичної безпеки і незалежності країни.

Air pollution is an important topic with a great social impact; it is related with public health, environment and ecology, and climate change. Scientists have developed several models in the last thirty years, and regional air quality operational systems are used routinely by governments and agencies. Efforts have also been done to simulate the air quality in the local scale; main models are Gaussian and Puff models, that are based on a Lagrangian approach. In contrast with these models, in this thesis we have developed a system using an Eulerian approach. This model is specifically designed for regions with complex orography where the Lagrangian models have problems computing the trajectory of the particles. This model can be used for diagnostic or prediction simulations. Air quality operational systems depend on the orography, meteorological data, and emission data. Air quality models use processors to incorporate these data into the model. The data can come from numerical weather prediction systems, experimental data, or databases. In this thesis we have developed processors, specifically designed for the local scale, to incorporate these data into our system. To incorporate the orography, we have developed a mesh generation algorithm suitable for complex terrain discretization; it also allows to insert layers that can match the regional models. A wind field model has also been used; it can interpolate a three-dimensional wind field from some station measurements using a log-linear vertical wind profile, or can interpolate it from a numerical weather prediction system. Once an interpolated wind field is computed, a mass-consistent model is applied to ensure null divergence and impermeability in the terrain. The wind field is modified to take into account the injection of the pollutants into the atmosphere. Briggs studied the trajectory of the plume rise giving some empirical equations that will be used in our model. Briggs' equations describe the trajectory in a plane; our model will modify this trajectory adapting it to the ambient wind field. This modification allows the plume rise to surround the mountains or channel into the valleys. The transport and reaction of pollutants in the atmosphere is then computed using an splitting method, so the transport and the chemical reactions are computed independently. To solve the transport of pollutants we have used a finite element method stabilized using least squares. The chemical reaction is simulated using simplified models such as RIVAD, or more complex ones such as CB05. To obtain more accurate results we have used adaptation. An error indicator has been used to adapt the mesh to the solution. To adapt the mesh to the concentration distribution of all the species is very demanding, for this reason we have used a multimesh method where every chemical specie has its own mesh where we solve the transport and the chemical reactions are simulated in a common mesh. The system developed in this thesis has diagnostic and forecasting capabilities. For this reason we present two different applications. The first one is a diagnostic application in La Palma island (Spain), where wind measurements are given, and SO2 and NO2 emissions from a stack are considered. The topography of the island is real, from a digital elevation model, but the wind field measurements, and the stack location and emissions, are simulated. The second application is a forecasting application data from the CMAQ benchmark test. It is located in the surrounding of Pineville Kentucky. In this application we have used all the data from CMAQ and the chemical reaction model CB05. ; La contaminació atmosfèrica té gran impacte social; està relacionada ambla salut pública, l'ecologia, el medi ambient i el canvi climàtic. En els últims trenta anys, els científics han desenvolupat diversos models que els governs i les agències mediambientals utilitzen diàriament. També s'han fet esforços per simular la qualitat de l'aire en l'escala local. Els models principals són els models Gaussians i Puff, que es basen en una descripció Lagrangiana. En contrast amb aquests models, en aquesta tesi s'ha desenvolupat un sistema que utilitza una descripció Euleriana. Aquest model està dissenyat específicament per a les regions amb topografia complexa on els models Lagrangians tenen problemes calculant la trajectòria de les partícules. El model presentat en aquesta tesi pot ser utilitzat tant pel diagnòstic com per la predicció. Els sistemes operatius utilitzats actualment depenen de l'orografia, de dades meteorològiques i de dades d'emissió. Per tal d'incorporar aquestes dades, els models de qualitat de l'aire han desenvolupat diferents preprocessadors. Les dades poden venir dels sistemes numèrics de predicció meteorològics, de dades experimentals o de bases de dades. En aquesta tesi hem desenvolupat preprocessadors dissenyats específicament per a l'àmbit local, per tal d'incorporar aquestes dades al nostre sistema. Per incorporar l'orografia, hem desenvolupat un algoritme de generació de malles adequat per terreny complex; l'algoritme també ens permet inserir capes que poden coincidir amb la dels models regionals. S'ha desenvolupat un model de càlcul de camp de vent; a partir de les dades s'interpola un camp de vent tridimensional fent servir un perfil log-lineal vertical del vent, o s'interpola a partir dels resultats d'un sistema de predicció meteorològica. Quan s'ha calculat el vent interpolat, es fa servir un model de massa consistent per obtenir un camp de vent definitiu on s'ha imposat divergència zero i impermeabilitat del terreny. El camp de vent s'ha de modificar per tenir en compte la injecció dels contaminants a l'atmosfera. Briggs va estudiar la trajectòria de l'elevació de la ploma i va trobar equacions empíriques que utilitzarem en el nostre model. Les equacions de Briggs descriuen la trajectòria de la ploma en un pla vertical; el nostre model modificarà aquesta trajectòria adaptant-la al camp de vent ambiental. Aquesta modificació permet que l'elevació de la ploma rodegi les muntanyes o s'acanali a les valls. El transport i la reacció de contaminants a l'atmosfera es calcula utilitzant un mètode de "splitting", de manera que el transport i la reacció química es calculen de forma independent. Per resoldre el transport de contaminants, hem utilitzat el mètode d'elements finits estabilitzat amb mínims quadrats. La reacció química es simula mitjançant models simplificats com el model RIVAD, o més complexes com el CB05. Per obtenir resultats més precisos hem adaptat la malla a la solució utilitzant un indicador d'error. Haver d'adaptar la malla a la distribució de la concentració de totes les espècies contaminants és molt exigent i per aquest motiu hem utilitzat un mètode "multimesh" on cada espècie química té la seva pròpia malla on resolem el transport i les reaccions químiques es simulen en una malla comú. El sistema desenvolupat en aquesta tesi té capacitats de diagnòstic i pronòstic. Per aquesta raó es presenten dues aplicacions diferents. La primera és una aplicació de diagnòstic a l'illa de la Palma (Espanya), on es disposa de mesures de vent, i de les emissions de SO2 i NO2 d'una xemeneia. La topografia de l'illa és real, a partir d'un model digital del terreny, però les dades del camp de vent, la ubicació de la xemeneia i el valor de les emissions són simulades. La segona aplicació és una aplicació de predicció fent servir els resultats del benchmark del CMAQ. Es simula una zona a Pineville Kentucky. En aquesta aplicació hem utilitzat totes les dades del CMAQ i el model químic CB05. ; Postprint (published version)

Air pollution is an important topic with a great social impact; it is related with public health, environment and ecology, and climate change. Scientists have developed several models in the last thirty years, and regional air quality operational systems are used routinely by governments and agencies. Efforts have also been done to simulate the air quality in the local scale; main models are Gaussian and Puff models, that are based on a Lagrangian approach. In contrast with these models, in this thesis we have developed a system using an Eulerian approach. This model is specifically designed for regions with complex orography where the Lagrangian models have problems computing the trajectory of the particles. This model can be used for diagnostic or prediction simulations. Air quality operational systems depend on the orography, meteorological data, and emission data. Air quality models use processors to incorporate these data into the model. The data can come from numerical weather prediction systems, experimental data, or databases. In this thesis we have developed processors, specifically designed for the local scale, to incorporate these data into our system. To incorporate the orography, we have developed a mesh generation algorithm suitable for complex terrain discretization; it also allows to insert layers that can match the regional models. A wind field model has also been used; it can interpolate a three-dimensional wind field from some station measurements using a log-linear vertical wind profile, or can interpolate it from a numerical weather prediction system. Once an interpolated wind field is computed, a mass-consistent model is applied to ensure null divergence and impermeability in the terrain. The wind field is modified to take into account the injection of the pollutants into the atmosphere. Briggs studied the trajectory of the plume rise giving some empirical equations that will be used in our model. Briggs' equations describe the trajectory in a plane; our model will modify this trajectory adapting it to the ambient wind field. This modification allows the plume rise to surround the mountains or channel into the valleys. The transport and reaction of pollutants in the atmosphere is then computed using an splitting method, so the transport and the chemical reactions are computed independently. To solve the transport of pollutants we have used a finite element method stabilized using least squares. The chemical reaction is simulated using simplified models such as RIVAD, or more complex ones such as CB05. To obtain more accurate results we have used adaptation. An error indicator has been used to adapt the mesh to the solution. To adapt the mesh to the concentration distribution of all the species is very demanding, for this reason we have used a multimesh method where every chemical specie has its own mesh where we solve the transport and the chemical reactions are simulated in a common mesh. The system developed in this thesis has diagnostic and forecasting capabilities. For this reason we present two different applications. The first one is a diagnostic application in La Palma island (Spain), where wind measurements are given, and SO2 and NO2 emissions from a stack are considered. The topography of the island is real, from a digital elevation model, but the wind field measurements, and the stack location and emissions, are simulated. The second application is a forecasting application data from the CMAQ benchmark test. It is located in the surrounding of Pineville Kentucky. In this application we have used all the data from CMAQ and the chemical reaction model CB05. ; La contaminació atmosfèrica té gran impacte social; està relacionada ambla salut pública, l'ecologia, el medi ambient i el canvi climàtic. En els últims trenta anys, els científics han desenvolupat diversos models que els governs i les agències mediambientals utilitzen diàriament. També s'han fet esforços per simular la qualitat de l'aire en l'escala local. Els models principals són els models Gaussians i Puff, que es basen en una descripció Lagrangiana. En contrast amb aquests models, en aquesta tesi s'ha desenvolupat un sistema que utilitza una descripció Euleriana. Aquest model està dissenyat específicament per a les regions amb topografia complexa on els models Lagrangians tenen problemes calculant la trajectòria de les partícules. El model presentat en aquesta tesi pot ser utilitzat tant pel diagnòstic com per la predicció. Els sistemes operatius utilitzats actualment depenen de l'orografia, de dades meteorològiques i de dades d'emissió. Per tal d'incorporar aquestes dades, els models de qualitat de l'aire han desenvolupat diferents preprocessadors. Les dades poden venir dels sistemes numèrics de predicció meteorològics, de dades experimentals o de bases de dades. En aquesta tesi hem desenvolupat preprocessadors dissenyats específicament per a l'àmbit local, per tal d'incorporar aquestes dades al nostre sistema. Per incorporar l'orografia, hem desenvolupat un algoritme de generació de malles adequat per terreny complex; l'algoritme també ens permet inserir capes que poden coincidir amb la dels models regionals. S'ha desenvolupat un model de càlcul de camp de vent; a partir de les dades s'interpola un camp de vent tridimensional fent servir un perfil log-lineal vertical del vent, o s'interpola a partir dels resultats d'un sistema de predicció meteorològica. Quan s'ha calculat el vent interpolat, es fa servir un model de massa consistent per obtenir un camp de vent definitiu on s'ha imposat divergència zero i impermeabilitat del terreny. El camp de vent s'ha de modificar per tenir en compte la injecció dels contaminants a l'atmosfera. Briggs va estudiar la trajectòria de l'elevació de la ploma i va trobar equacions empíriques que utilitzarem en el nostre model. Les equacions de Briggs descriuen la trajectòria de la ploma en un pla vertical; el nostre model modificarà aquesta trajectòria adaptant-la al camp de vent ambiental. Aquesta modificació permet que l'elevació de la ploma rodegi les muntanyes o s'acanali a les valls. El transport i la reacció de contaminants a l'atmosfera es calcula utilitzant un mètode de "splitting", de manera que el transport i la reacció química es calculen de forma independent. Per resoldre el transport de contaminants, hem utilitzat el mètode d'elements finits estabilitzat amb mínims quadrats. La reacció química es simula mitjançant models simplificats com el model RIVAD, o més complexes com el CB05. Per obtenir resultats més precisos hem adaptat la malla a la solució utilitzant un indicador d'error. Haver d'adaptar la malla a la distribució de la concentració de totes les espècies contaminants és molt exigent i per aquest motiu hem utilitzat un mètode "multimesh" on cada espècie química té la seva pròpia malla on resolem el transport i les reaccions químiques es simulen en una malla comú. El sistema desenvolupat en aquesta tesi té capacitats de diagnòstic i pronòstic. Per aquesta raó es presenten dues aplicacions diferents. La primera és una aplicació de diagnòstic a l'illa de la Palma (Espanya), on es disposa de mesures de vent, i de les emissions de SO2 i NO2 d'una xemeneia. La topografia de l'illa és real, a partir d'un model digital del terreny, però les dades del camp de vent, la ubicació de la xemeneia i el valor de les emissions són simulades. La segona aplicació és una aplicació de predicció fent servir els resultats del benchmark del CMAQ. Es simula una zona a Pineville Kentucky. En aquesta aplicació hem utilitzat totes les dades del CMAQ i el model químic CB05. ; Postprint (published version)

It was hard to know whether to laugh or cry in response to recent press reports suggesting that the Biden administration is gearing up for a "sustained bombing campaign" against the Houthis in Yemen. Unsurprisingly, the initial coalition strikes against the Houthis apparently did not destroy the Houthi arsenal being launched at commercial vessels in the Red Sea.As was the case in the great jihadi hunt across Southwest Asia stretching over nearly a quarter century, the United States today finds itself at war in a conflict with no defined political objective and a clearly unachievable military objective against an enemy that is nested in a complex political and strategic circumstance that is completely unfamiliar to the United States. Sound familiar?It is also a war with no apparent timeline in which the application of force is linked to ill-defined benchmarks, suggesting that we could launch our bombs and missiles indefinitely or until we run out of ammunition — to no strategic purpose. Have we learned nothing from our follies of the last 25 years in which we proved incapable of clearly relating ends, ways, and means in making decisions on when and under what circumstances to use force? For those states that can afford them, standoff weapons and bombs have become the preferred method of policing the international system. Yet it's hard to remember any of these strikes having any sort of lasting positive impact once the headlines and videos faded. Strangely, these tools of war maintain a hold on government and the popular imagination as some sort of "decisive" action that curiously demonstrates strength, commitment, and resolve.The reality is that strike warfare — long range strikes by planes and missiles — has rarely achieved its advertised political and strategic consequence. Yet it remains a dangerous, drug-like chimera to countries like the United States desperately searching for some sort of easy, low-cost way of maintaining global influence, control, and primacy in a chaotic world. Like all drugs, the initial rush feels great, but the long-range addiction is, in the end, far more destructive, dangerous, and difficult (if not impossible) to kick.We tell ourselves that the state/bad guy on the receiving end (in this case the Houthis) will feel the wrath of our (duly proportionate) strikes and reconsider continuing their attacks. Yet, of course, the Houthis in public pronouncements seem to have welcomed the chance to start shooting directly at the United States. Moreover, we have limited knowledge of the Houthi anti-ship weapon arsenal in its entirety, let alone the political motivations that surround their own use of force. The truth is we have no knowledge or understanding of whether and under what circumstances the Houthis will cease fire, but blithely assume that our missiles and bombs will make them behave. The history of America's fetishOpen-ended military strikes regrettably have become an ill-considered American fetish. We told ourselves the same thing in December 1998, in the three-day fusillade against Iraq known as Operation Desert Fox, when Washington wanted to stress its disapproval of Saddam Hussein's recalcitrance toward UN weapons inspectors. And, of course, Desert Fox was really just the exclamation point on a campaign of long-range strikes during the 1990s that sought to control the Iraqi dictator's non-existent WMD programs.My favorite strike of the 1990s was the 1996 cruise missile strike to warn Saddam off attacking the Kurds in northern Iraq. He did not. But the strategic consequences of those strikes went unrecognized at the time, and they had little to do with Saddam. Following those strikes, the U.S. took on the role of protecting the Kurds and tacitly endorsed their dream of statehood — a decision that today continues to shape the region in ways that may or may not support our interests. In the end, the era of the 1990s culminating in Desert Fox proved to be little else but the bridge to the next phase of the U.S. war on Iraq.We told ourselves the same thing in the opening phases of the shock and awe campaign of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as we blasted away in our creative targeting against Saddam's armies under the rubric of "shock and awe" and "effects-based operations." Sure enough, Saddam's armies indeed melted away from our initial bombing and our advancing armies, only to regroup and morph into something much more dangerous and deadly that is still shaping the landscape of the Middle East today.We told ourselves that same thing in Afghanistan, as we unleashed a fusillade of strikes called in by CIA jawbreaker teams that sent the Taliban scurrying over the border into Pakistan in 2001 to rest and refit. Once they had done that, they slipped back across the border to resume the war — a conflict they would eventually win 20 years later — forcing the United States to retreat and leaving the Taliban in control of the country.We told ourselves the same thing in Libya in 2011, when we believed that a few well-placed missiles and bombs would enable a peaceful transition of power from Qadafi to someone more amenable to, well, us. Of course, as was the case in Iraq, the strikes were only the opening round in an ongoing struggle for political power and authority that continues to this day.As was the case in Iraq and Afghanistan, the second-order effects of the strikes in Libya ended up being of far greater strategic consequences than was anticipated at the time. The current Biden national security team, which engineered these strikes, obviously learned nothing from the experience.We've told ourselves the same thing in the global war on terror, where we have sent our robots and special forces hunting for sought-after "high value targets" all over the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. We have surely rained death and destruction on these enemies (and killed lots of innocent people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time) with our Hellfire missiles, but did we win any of these wars?Yet we remain addicted Despite these uncertain results and even colossal failures, we remain addicted to strike warfare, telling ourselves that we can police the politics on the ground by dropping bombs from on high. The reality is, of course, different. Targeting people and property with high explosives tends to make them angry and fight harder. Just ask the Houthis, who have endured years of U.S.-sponsored and supported airstrikes by the Saudis and others in the Yemeni civil war. Obviously, the Houthis were not bombed into submission.Therein lies the strategic dilemma for the West, which has invested billions in the strike, information, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities designed to blow things up at long range with little advertised collateral damage. The revolution in military affairs (and billions of taxpayer dollars) indeed delivered the strike complex — much to the delight of political leaders, who saw in it a low-cost substitute for sending armies to the four corners of the globe to police local political disputes. As described above, this is largely a myth.The Houthis have indicated they'll stop shooting when the Gaza War ends. Perhaps Secretary Blinken should stop by Sana'a on his next trip to the region for consultations. Even more importantly, maybe the Biden Administration should listen to the Houthis and others and take decisive steps to end the war in Gaza instead of becoming enmeshed in the conflict's wider fires to no strategic purpose.Surrounded by the wreckage around the world wrought by strikes stretching back over half a century, you'd think that it was time for us to get into the rehab center and confront our addiction, yet this latest round of strikes tells us that our habit depressingly remains as strong as ever.

As one of America's closest allies, Israel has remained heavily dependent on the US —politically, economically, and militarily—since its creation in 1948.US arms supplies, mostly provided gratis, are channeled via US Foreign Military Financing (FMF), Military Assistance Program (MAP) and Excess Defense Articles (EDA).According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the US has provided more foreign assistance to Israel since World War II than to any other country.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) documented that the United States supplied 79 percent of all weapons transferred to Israel from 2018-2022.No one else was even close – the next closest suppliers were Germany with 20 percent and Italy with just 0.2 percent.A Fact Sheet released October 2023, by the US State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, provides a detailed official breakdown on the unrestrained American security assistance to Israel.Steadfast support for Israel's security has been a cornerstone of American foreign policy for every U.S. Administration since the presidency of Harry S. Truman.Since Israel's founding in 1948, the State Department said, the United States has provided Israel with over $130 billion in bilateral assistance focused on addressing new and complex security threats, bridging Israel's capability gaps through security assistance and cooperation, increasing interoperability through joint exercises, and helping Israel maintain its Qualitative Military Edge (QME).This assistance, says the State Department, has helped transform the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into "one of the world's most capable, effective militaries and turned the Israeli military industry and technology sector into one of the largest exporters of military capabilities worldwide."In the current war, Israel's overwhelming fire power has resulted in the killings of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the destruction of entire cities—mostly with US supplied weapons.Dr. Natalie J. Goldring, a Visiting Professor of the Practice in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, told IPS the October 7 Hamas attacks were horrendous acts and should be condemned as such."Even so, the Israeli responses to those attacks have been indiscriminate – intentionally so," she said.Two days after the Hamas attacks, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant declared that Israel would carry out a "complete siege" of Gaza, including blocking the supply of water, food, and fuel, while also stopping the supply of electricity. And Israeli forces have done so, she pointed out."The US government bears a special responsibility for the continuing Israeli attacks. It has supplied Israel with massive quantities of military aid and weaponry, and Israel has ignored US restrictions on the use of those weapons".This supply of weapons and ammunition allows the Israeli military to continue its indiscriminate attacks in Gaza," said Dr Goldring, who also represents the Acronym Institute at the United Nations, on conventional weapons and arms trade issues."A key first step in reducing the human cost of this war is for the US government to call for an immediate ceasefire. The US government should also halt supplies of weapons and ammunition to Israel, whether from the US itself or from prepositioned stocks elsewhere."Since 1983, the United States and Israel have met regularly via the Joint Political-Military Group (JPMG) to promote shared policies, address common threats and concerns, and identify new areas for security cooperation.According to the State Department, Israel is the leading global recipient of Title 22 U.S. security assistance under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. This has been formalized by a 10-year (2019-2028) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).Consistent with the MOU, the United States annually provides $3.3 billion in FMF and $500 million for cooperative programs for missile defense. Since FY 2009, the United States has provided Israel with $3.4 billion in funding for missile defense, including $1.3 billion for Iron Dome support starting in FY 2011.Through FMF, the United States provides Israel with access to some of the most advanced military equipment in the world, including the F-35 Stealth fighter aircraft.Israel is eligible for Cash Flow Financing and is authorized to use its annual FMF allocation to procure defense articles, services, and training through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system, Direct Commercial Contract agreements – which are FMF-funded Direct Commercial Sales procurements – and through Off Shore Procurement (OSP).Via OSP the current MOU allows Israel to spend a portion of its FMF on Israeli-origin rather than U.S.-origin defense articles. This was 25 percent in FY 2019 but is set to phase-out and decrease to zero in FY 2028.Elaborating further Dr Goldring said: "Unfortunately, the situation in Gaza bears similarities to the documented uses of US weapons by the Saudi-led coalition in attacks on civilians in Yemen"She said: "Our response should be the same in both cases. These countries have failed to honor the conditions of US weapons transfers, and should be ineligible for further transfers until they are in compliance.""US arms transfer decision-making gives too much weight to the judgment of government officials and politicians who frequently fail to consider the full human costs of these transfers," she argued."Earlier this year, the Biden Administration released a new Conventional Arms Transfer policy. They claimed that arms transfers would not be approved when their analysis concluded that "it is more likely than not" that the arms transferred would be used to commit or facilitate the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law."The actions of the Israeli and Saudi militaries are examples of ways in which this standard is not being met, declared Dr Goldring.As of October 2023, the United States has 599 active Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases, valued at $23.8 billion, with Israel. FMS cases notified to Congress are listed here; priority initiatives include: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft; CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopters; KC-46A Aerial Refueling Tankers; and precision-guided munitions.From FY 2018 through FY 2022, the U.S. has also authorized the permanent export of over $5.7billion in defense articles to Israel via the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) process.The top categories of DCS to Israel were XIX-Toxicological Agents, including Chemical Agents, Biological Agents, and Associated Equipment (this includes detection equipment ((f)), vaccines ((g)-(h)) and modeling software ((i)); IV- Launch Vehicles, Guided Missiles, Ballistic Missiles, Rockets, Torpedoes, Bombs, and Mines; and VII- Aircraft.Since 1992, the United States has provided Israel with $6.6 billion worth of equipment under the Excess Defense Articles program, including weapons, spare parts, weapons, and simulators.U.S. European Command also maintains in Israel the U.S. War Reserve Stockpile, which can be used to boost Israeli defenses in the case of a significant military emergency.In addition to security assistance and arms sales, the United States participates in a variety of exchanges with Israel, including military exercises like Juniper Oak and Juniper Falcon, as well as joint research, and weapons development.The United States and Israel have signed multiple bilateral defense cooperation agreements, to include: a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement (1952); a General Security of Information Agreement (1982); a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (1991); and a Status of Forces Agreement (1994), according to the State Department.Since 2011, the United States has also invested more than $8 million in Conventional Weapons Destruction programs in the West Bank to improve regional and human security through the survey and clearance of undisputed minefields.Following years of negotiations with the Palestinians and Israelis, humanitarian mine action activities began in April 2014 – this represents the first humanitarian clearance of landmine contamination in nearly five decades.Israel has also been designated as a U.S. Major Non-NATO Ally under U.S. law. This status provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation and is a powerful symbol of their close relationship with the United States.This piece has been republished with permission from Inter Press Service.

Loše reakcije na krize koje su izazvane ljudskim ili sistemskim greškama mogu značajno uticati na zaustavljanje ili prekid radnih procesa u okviru organizacije. Ove greške moguće je minimalizovati korišćenjem metoda koje su zasnovane na primeni agentnog modelovanja, odnosno agentne tehnologije. Osnovu agentnog modelovanja čini softverska i/ili hardverska realizacija sistema koji je sačinjen od nezavisnih, ali ne i izolovanih komponenti – agenata, koji imaju mogućnost samostalnog odlučivanja i komunikacije sa okruženjem, zbog realizacije zadatog cilja. Princip agentnog modelovanja primenjen je na proces edukacije, odnosno uspostavljanja, održavanja i nadogradnje sistema zasnovanog na informacionim tehnologijama (IT sistemi), i na obučavanje personala s ciljem smanjenja uticaja grešaka koje nastaju tokom krize. U radu je prikazan originalni model agenta edukacije koji je namenjen prevenciji, suzbijanju i smanjenju uticaja kriza koje nastaju kao posledica spore reakcije na incidente, neadekvatnog odlučivanja ili loše komunikacije. Agent edukacije sadrži agent indikatora stanja koji reaguje na incidente i agent menadžmenta koji je namenjen smanjenju vremena trajanja i intenziteta krize. Kroz primer fiktivne vojne organizacije VORG predočene su funkcije agenata edukacije za konkretan slučaj. ; Introduction Crises caused by human or system errors vary in intensity and duration, and may cause adverse changes in the functioning of an organization. The prevention as well as a good response to incidents and fast reaction to the crisis when it escalates are essential. Therefore, all decisions during the crisis must be precise and concise, and the reaction of the information and communication systems as well as that of personnel must be adequate. The agent technology described in this paper is used to model the education agent for establishing, maintaining and upgrading IT systems, as well as for the staff training. The education agent consists of an indicator of changes in the environment (status indication agent) and a management system (management agent) for the reaction to crises. Through an illustrative example of the VORG organization, the functions of these agents are described. Causes of IT Crises IT crises are generally caused by human or system errors. The intensity and duration of the crisis vary and cannot be predicted. Still, problems that may arise as a result of the crisis may be far-reaching for an organization. However, well educated staff and a high-quality IT infrastructure can minimize errors and reduce the consequences for the organization. Agent-Based Modeling An agent is a software or hardware memory-based component that can be implemented in an information system. It can independently make decisions and communicate with the environment. It also receives, processes and transmits information in accordance with existing protocols, and its validity is determined by the ability to adapt to changes. In carrying out the activities it is characterized by a certain form of intelligence, which enables the agent's response to be directed towards the realization of objectives. Agent-Based Modeling of Education With proper education, there is a possibility for employees to avoid some mistakes that lead to crises. However, crises can occur due to unforeseen events. If the crisis management and incident indication are the parts of a business plan, then a proper training increases resistance to human and system errors. Therefore, the management agent and the status indication agent, i.e. the education agent, are used to train personnel, make information concise and decisionmaking faster when a crisis hits. Moreover, the education agent also monitors, controls and upgrades IT-based systems. The status indication agent is realized as a software module for a rapid response to the occurrence of incidents. High speed indicates a need for the selection of one of the options defined in advance in the initial phase of the education agent. The indication is based on symbolic logic. If the agent does not recognize one of possible options, it reacts by alarming the person in charge. The management agent is a synonym for the crisis management processes. When setting the initial conditions for the management agent, it is necessary to define how and when to use the information needed in a given situation, which is performed by forming the matrix of responses to the if-then kind of questions. In that way, it is possible to reduce the duration and intensity of the crisis. Education agent: Education includes the establishment, maintenance, upgrading IT systems and staff training. The initial settings of an organizational structure also mean that the basic parameters of an education agent and its functions are also initalized in order to provide a proper reaction to the incident and, consequently, the crisis. As a part of the education agent, the status indication agent is used to notify and recognize incidents, while a proper reaction to the crisis is a function of the management agent. After the crisis ends, the education agent is used to return the operational capabilities and make changes in the organizational structure. Example of an Error Impact Reduction for the Vorg Military Organization THE VORG, An imaginary military organization, is a three-level structure consisting of managers, executives and employees. The VORG's functions include implementing new IT systems and maintaining the existing ones, co-operating with other organizations and scientific research. In that way, the sources of crises in the VORG can be inadequate response to incidents, poor communication and education following the inadequate decision-making. The crisis caused by an inadequate response to the occurrence of incidents: The reaction to the occurrence of incidents is important for each function in the organization. A reaction to the crisis depends on the quality of IT systems, and the way the employees cope with crises. In this case, the education agent functions are primairly a periodic check up (announced or unannounced) on the employees and the incident-response systems as well. The crisis caused by an inadequate communication and education: In organizations with an inflexible hierarchy, the employees have to recognize a crisis, but they are also required to respect the rules when addressing the superiors. An organization has to be prepared for the events that could cause a crisis. This is enabled by the initial state activities. In this example, the education agent is used to forward only important information to the collegium. The crisis caused by an inadequate decision making: Decision making is mostly related to the supervisors and the executive staff. During the crisis it is necessary that the supervisors let the emergency teams make decisions. It is also essential that the decision-making staff is tested and that their work is revised by accredited experts. One way of checking the competence is to introduce certain deadlines and demands for the personnel that should be a part of the top management. Conclusion Many different errors can cause crises that vary in intensity, duration and consequences. Educating staff, checking their skills and a qualitative structure of an organization represent the basis of a quick and accurate response to a crisis. Nevertheless, human errors as well as system failures may happen. These errors can be prevented by the functions of the education agent which consists of a status indication agent and a management agent. The education agent is realized as a software or hardware-based module which functions at a basis for the IT system activities before, during and after the crisis. The causes of crises are inadequate responses to the occurrence of incidents, inadequate communication and education as well as inadequate decision making, which is explained in details in the illustrative example of the VORG organization.

Reconstruction has been based on several plans of Akkerman city and fortress. The urban structures were characterized by chaotic planning with distinguished three-four local districts shaped around the squares. External fortifications (themoat and the wall) enveloped the trading quarters by a rough curve. Urban development becomes more dense closer to the fortress. The fortress also housed a few public buildings. The territory of the defensive ensemble is divided into several quarters. The highest density of buildings is seen in the northeastern, coastal part of the trading quarters, near modern streets Popova and Shabskaya. The Greek church still preserved here is dated by the second half of 15th century, and Armenian church dates to early 17th century.The archaic planning is still present at places (outlines of streets and a square in the quarter between the current streets Shabskaya, Kutuzova, Popova and Shevchenko are the same). It was the district with one of the three exits from the city, towards Katarja village and the sea quay (on the cape, between Shabolat and Dniester estuaries), known from 1419. North-east of the city gate, on the external side of the city fortifications, there was a big cemetery (Christian, most likely). Two other exits from the city were located in the south-western part of the external defense line (road to Tatarbunar and Bender). They are also accompanied by a cemetery, this time located within the city line. It is the Muslim mazar, whose surface matched the four modern quarters within the streets SverdlovaDzerzhinskogo and Kirova-Shevchenko. Localization of the cemetery is confirmed by stray finds of burials in this urban district, as well as marble grave -stones with epitaphs in the old Ottoman language (with one dated by 1743). East of Tatarbunar gate there is a garden adjoining the defense line in quarters between Pervomaiskaya and Kirova streets. Another garden was located outside the urban boundary, on the lower coastal terrace of the estuary, south-west of Bender gate.A few small cemeteries were found inside the urban buildings. Almost all of them were related to churches or mosques. Thus, at the corner of Kalinina and Ushakova streets, historical plans localize a mosque with a small cemetery west of it (near modern school no. 1). Another Muslim cemetery of 16th—18th century was found near the fortress, south-east of towers no. 1—3 of the Military Court. The Armenian and Greek churches also had their own graveyards. A few dozens of preTurkish burials were documented in the Civil Court, west of the Orthodox church, during archaeological excavations led by G. Mezentseva. After seizure of Belgorod by the Turks (1484), the church was replaced by Bayazed Veli's Mosque (?). Kauffer's plan marks it as Sultan Mosque. Another 15th century small Christian graveyard inside the fortress was documented by Gr. Avakian's digs at the eastern wall of the Citadel, where some graves were revealed under a window of apse of the Citadel's church. There were at least seven mosques in the fortress in the second half of 18th century. ; Реконструкция исторической топографии Аккермана основана на нескольких планах города и крепости второй половины XVIII в. Городская застройка характеризовалась хаотичной планировкой с тремя-четырьмя локальными районами, сформировавшимися вокруг площадей. Внешние укрепления (ров и стены) охватывали посад неровной дугой. Городская застройка становится более плотной по мере приближения к крепости. В самой крепости также размещались некоторые общественные здания. Территория оборонительного ансамбля делится на несколько кварталов. Самая высокая плотность застройки наблюдается в северо- восточной, прибрежной части торговых кварталов, в пределах современных улиц Попова и Шабской. До сих пор сохранились здесь Греческая церковь, которая датируется второй половиной 15-го века и Армянская церковь (начало 17-го века). Архаичная планировка по-прежнему прослеживается в некоторых местах (направления улиц и контуры площади в квартале между нынешними улицами Шабской, Кутузова, Попова и Шевченко). В этом районе располагался один из трех выездов из города, в сторону деревни Катаржа и морской пристани (на мысу, между Шаболатским и Днестровским лиманами), которая известна с 1419 г. К северо-востоку от городских ворот, с внешней стороны городских укреплений, располагалось обширное кладбище (скорее всего, христианское). Два других выхода из города были расположены в юго-западной части внешней линии обороны (дороги к Татарбунарам и Бендерам). С ними также соотносится кладбище, но на этот раз, расположенное в городской черте. Это мусульманский мазар, территория которого соответствовала четырем современным кварталам в пределах ул. Свердлова-Дзержинского и ул. Кирова- Шевченко. Локализация кладбища подтверждается случайными находками погребений в этом городском районе, а также мраморных надгробий с эпитафиями на старо-османском языке (одно датировано 1743 г.). К востоку от Татарбунарских ворот располагался сад, примыкающий к линии обороны в пределах кварталов между Первомайской и улицей Кирова. Другой сад был расположен за пределами городской черты, на нижней прибрежной террасе лимана, к юго-западу от Бендерских ворот. Несколько маленьких кладбищ находились внутри городских кварталов. Почти все они были связаны с церквями или мечетями. На углу улиц Калинина и Ушакова, согласно историческим планам, локализована мечеть с небольшим кладбищем к западу от него (вблизи современной школы № 1). Другое мусульманское кладбище XVI-XVIII-го вв. было зафиксировано недалеко от крепости, к юго-востоку от башен № 1-3 Военного двора. Армянская и Греческая церкви также имели свои собственные кладбища. Несколько десятков захоронений доосманской эпохи были зафиксированы в Гражданском дворе, к западу от христианской церкви, во время археологических раскопок под руководством Г. Мезенцевой. После захвата Белгорода турками (1484 г.), на месте церкви появилась мечеть Баязеда Второго (?). На план Ф. Кауффера 1793 г. она отмечена как Султанская мечеть. Еще одно небольшое христианское кладбище XV в. внутри крепости был зафиксировано Гр. Авакяном во время раскопок у восточной стены цитадели, где единичные могилы были выявлены под окном апсиды церкви цитадели. Во второй половине XVIII в. в крепости насчитывалось как минимум семь мечетей. ; Реконструкція історичної топографії Аккермана спирається на декілька планів міста і фортеці другої половини XVIII ст. Міська забудова характеризувалася хаотичним плануванням з трьома-чотирма локальними районами, сформованими навколо площ. Зовнішні укріплення (рів та стіни) охоплювали посад нерівною дугою. Міська забудова стає щільнішою в міру наближення до фортеці. У самій фортеці також розміщувалися деякі громадські будівлі. Територія оборонного ансамблю поділяється на декілька кварталів. Найвища щільність забудови спостерігається в північно-східній, прибережній частині торгових кварталів, в межах сучасних вулиць Попова та Шабській. До цих пір тут збереглися Грецька церква, яка датується другою половиною 15-го століття, та Вірменська церква (початок 17-го століття). Архаїчне планування простежується в деяких місцях сучасного міста (збігаються напрямки вулиць та контури площі в кварталі між нинішніми вулицями Шабська, Кутузова, Попова і Шевченка). У цьому районі розташовувався один з трьох виїздів з міста, в бік села Катаржа та морської пристані (на мисі, між Шаболатським та Дністровським лиманами), яка відома з 1419 р. На північний схід від цих міських воріт, із зовнішнього боку міських укріплень, розташовувався великий цвинтар (швидше за все, християнський). Два інших виїзди з міста були розташовані в південно- західній частині зовнішньої лінії оборони (дороги до Татарбунар та Бендер). З ними також співвідноситься кладовище, але на цей раз, воно розташоване в межах міста. Це мусульманський мазар, територія якого відповідала чотирьом сучасним кварталам в межах вул. Свердлова-Дзержинського та вул. Кірова-Шевченка. Локалізація кладовища підтверджується випадковими знахідками поховань в цьому міському районі, а також мармурових надмогильних плит з епітафіями старо-османською мовою (одне датоване 1743 р.). На схід від Татарбунарських воріт розташовувався сад, що примикав до лінії оборони в межах кварталів між Першотравневою та вулицею Кірова. Інший сад був розташований за межами міста, на нижній прибережній терасі лиману, на північний захід від Бендерських воріт. Декілька маленьких кладовищ знаходилось всередині міських кварталів. Майже всі вони були пов'язані з церквами або мечетями. Так, на розі вулиць Калініна та Ушакова, згідно з історичними планами, локалізована мечеть з невеликим кладовищем на захід від неї (поблизу сучасної школи № 1). Інше мусульманське кладовище XVI-XVIII ст. було зафіксовано неподалік від фортеці, на південний схід від веж № 1-3 Військового двору. Вірменська та Грецька церкви також мали свої власні кладовища. Кілька десятків поховань до османських часів були зафіксовані в Цивільному дворі, на захід від християнської церкви, під час археологічних розкопок під керівництвом Г. Мезенцевої. Після захоплення Білгорода турками (1484 р.), на місці церкви з'явилася мечеть Баязеда Другого (?). На план Ф. Кауффера 1793 р. вона позначена як Султанська мечеть. Ще одне невелике християнське кладовище XV ст. всередині фортеці було зафіксовано Гр. Авакяном під час розкопок біля східної стіни цитаделі, де поодинокі могили були виявлені ним під вікном апсиди церкви цитаделі. У другій половині XVIII ст. у фортеці налічувалося як мінімум сім мечетей.

Reconstruction has been based on several plans of Akkerman city and fortress. The urban structures were characterized by chaotic planning with distinguished three-four local districts shaped around the squares. External fortifications (themoat and the wall) enveloped the trading quarters by a rough curve. Urban development becomes more dense closer to the fortress. The fortress also housed a few public buildings. The territory of the defensive ensemble is divided into several quarters. The highest density of buildings is seen in the northeastern, coastal part of the trading quarters, near modern streets Popova and Shabskaya. The Greek church still preserved here is dated by the second half of 15th century, and Armenian church dates to early 17th century.The archaic planning is still present at places (outlines of streets and a square in the quarter between the current streets Shabskaya, Kutuzova, Popova and Shevchenko are the same). It was the district with one of the three exits from the city, towards Katarja village and the sea quay (on the cape, between Shabolat and Dniester estuaries), known from 1419. North-east of the city gate, on the external side of the city fortifications, there was a big cemetery (Christian, most likely). Two other exits from the city were located in the south-western part of the external defense line (road to Tatarbunar and Bender). They are also accompanied by a cemetery, this time located within the city line. It is the Muslim mazar, whose surface matched the four modern quarters within the streets SverdlovaDzerzhinskogo and Kirova-Shevchenko. Localization of the cemetery is confirmed by stray finds of burials in this urban district, as well as marble grave -stones with epitaphs in the old Ottoman language (with one dated by 1743). East of Tatarbunar gate there is a garden adjoining the defense line in quarters between Pervomaiskaya and Kirova streets. Another garden was located outside the urban boundary, on the lower coastal terrace of the estuary, south-west of Bender gate.A few small cemeteries were found inside the urban buildings. Almost all of them were related to churches or mosques. Thus, at the corner of Kalinina and Ushakova streets, historical plans localize a mosque with a small cemetery west of it (near modern school no. 1). Another Muslim cemetery of 16th—18th century was found near the fortress, south-east of towers no. 1—3 of the Military Court. The Armenian and Greek churches also had their own graveyards. A few dozens of preTurkish burials were documented in the Civil Court, west of the Orthodox church, during archaeological excavations led by G. Mezentseva. After seizure of Belgorod by the Turks (1484), the church was replaced by Bayazed Veli's Mosque (?). Kauffer's plan marks it as Sultan Mosque. Another 15th century small Christian graveyard inside the fortress was documented by Gr. Avakian's digs at the eastern wall of the Citadel, where some graves were revealed under a window of apse of the Citadel's church. There were at least seven mosques in the fortress in the second half of 18th century. ; Реконструкция исторической топографии Аккермана основана на нескольких планах города и крепости второй половины XVIII в. Городская застройка характеризовалась хаотичной планировкой с тремя-четырьмя локальными районами, сформировавшимися вокруг площадей. Внешние укрепления (ров и стены) охватывали посад неровной дугой. Городская застройка становится более плотной по мере приближения к крепости. В самой крепости также размещались некоторые общественные здания. Территория оборонительного ансамбля делится на несколько кварталов. Самая высокая плотность застройки наблюдается в северо- восточной, прибрежной части торговых кварталов, в пределах современных улиц Попова и Шабской. До сих пор сохранились здесь Греческая церковь, которая датируется второй половиной 15-го века и Армянская церковь (начало 17-го века). Архаичная планировка по-прежнему прослеживается в некоторых местах (направления улиц и контуры площади в квартале между нынешними улицами Шабской, Кутузова, Попова и Шевченко). В этом районе располагался один из трех выездов из города, в сторону деревни Катаржа и морской пристани (на мысу, между Шаболатским и Днестровским лиманами), которая известна с 1419 г. К северо-востоку от городских ворот, с внешней стороны городских укреплений, располагалось обширное кладбище (скорее всего, христианское). Два других выхода из города были расположены в юго-западной части внешней линии обороны (дороги к Татарбунарам и Бендерам). С ними также соотносится кладбище, но на этот раз, расположенное в городской черте. Это мусульманский мазар, территория которого соответствовала четырем современным кварталам в пределах ул. Свердлова-Дзержинского и ул. Кирова- Шевченко. Локализация кладбища подтверждается случайными находками погребений в этом городском районе, а также мраморных надгробий с эпитафиями на старо-османском языке (одно датировано 1743 г.). К востоку от Татарбунарских ворот располагался сад, примыкающий к линии обороны в пределах кварталов между Первомайской и улицей Кирова. Другой сад был расположен за пределами городской черты, на нижней прибрежной террасе лимана, к юго-западу от Бендерских ворот. Несколько маленьких кладбищ находились внутри городских кварталов. Почти все они были связаны с церквями или мечетями. На углу улиц Калинина и Ушакова, согласно историческим планам, локализована мечеть с небольшим кладбищем к западу от него (вблизи современной школы № 1). Другое мусульманское кладбище XVI-XVIII-го вв. было зафиксировано недалеко от крепости, к юго-востоку от башен № 1-3 Военного двора. Армянская и Греческая церкви также имели свои собственные кладбища. Несколько десятков захоронений доосманской эпохи были зафиксированы в Гражданском дворе, к западу от христианской церкви, во время археологических раскопок под руководством Г. Мезенцевой. После захвата Белгорода турками (1484 г.), на месте церкви появилась мечеть Баязеда Второго (?). На план Ф. Кауффера 1793 г. она отмечена как Султанская мечеть. Еще одно небольшое христианское кладбище XV в. внутри крепости был зафиксировано Гр. Авакяном во время раскопок у восточной стены цитадели, где единичные могилы были выявлены под окном апсиды церкви цитадели. Во второй половине XVIII в. в крепости насчитывалось как минимум семь мечетей. ; Реконструкція історичної топографії Аккермана спирається на декілька планів міста і фортеці другої половини XVIII ст. Міська забудова характеризувалася хаотичним плануванням з трьома-чотирма локальними районами, сформованими навколо площ. Зовнішні укріплення (рів та стіни) охоплювали посад нерівною дугою. Міська забудова стає щільнішою в міру наближення до фортеці. У самій фортеці також розміщувалися деякі громадські будівлі. Територія оборонного ансамблю поділяється на декілька кварталів. Найвища щільність забудови спостерігається в північно-східній, прибережній частині торгових кварталів, в межах сучасних вулиць Попова та Шабській. До цих пір тут збереглися Грецька церква, яка датується другою половиною 15-го століття, та Вірменська церква (початок 17-го століття). Архаїчне планування простежується в деяких місцях сучасного міста (збігаються напрямки вулиць та контури площі в кварталі між нинішніми вулицями Шабська, Кутузова, Попова і Шевченка). У цьому районі розташовувався один з трьох виїздів з міста, в бік села Катаржа та морської пристані (на мисі, між Шаболатським та Дністровським лиманами), яка відома з 1419 р. На північний схід від цих міських воріт, із зовнішнього боку міських укріплень, розташовувався великий цвинтар (швидше за все, християнський). Два інших виїзди з міста були розташовані в південно- західній частині зовнішньої лінії оборони (дороги до Татарбунар та Бендер). З ними також співвідноситься кладовище, але на цей раз, воно розташоване в межах міста. Це мусульманський мазар, територія якого відповідала чотирьом сучасним кварталам в межах вул. Свердлова-Дзержинського та вул. Кірова-Шевченка. Локалізація кладовища підтверджується випадковими знахідками поховань в цьому міському районі, а також мармурових надмогильних плит з епітафіями старо-османською мовою (одне датоване 1743 р.). На схід від Татарбунарських воріт розташовувався сад, що примикав до лінії оборони в межах кварталів між Першотравневою та вулицею Кірова. Інший сад був розташований за межами міста, на нижній прибережній терасі лиману, на північний захід від Бендерських воріт. Декілька маленьких кладовищ знаходилось всередині міських кварталів. Майже всі вони були пов'язані з церквами або мечетями. Так, на розі вулиць Калініна та Ушакова, згідно з історичними планами, локалізована мечеть з невеликим кладовищем на захід від неї (поблизу сучасної школи № 1). Інше мусульманське кладовище XVI-XVIII ст. було зафіксовано неподалік від фортеці, на південний схід від веж № 1-3 Військового двору. Вірменська та Грецька церкви також мали свої власні кладовища. Кілька десятків поховань до османських часів були зафіксовані в Цивільному дворі, на захід від християнської церкви, під час археологічних розкопок під керівництвом Г. Мезенцевої. Після захоплення Білгорода турками (1484 р.), на місці церкви з'явилася мечеть Баязеда Другого (?). На план Ф. Кауффера 1793 р. вона позначена як Султанська мечеть. Ще одне невелике християнське кладовище XV ст. всередині фортеці було зафіксовано Гр. Авакяном під час розкопок біля східної стіни цитаделі, де поодинокі могили були виявлені ним під вікном апсиди церкви цитаделі. У другій половині XVIII ст. у фортеці налічувалося як мінімум сім мечетей.

Mención Internacional en el título de doctor ; La propulsión eléctrica es una tecnología consolidada, utilizada por vehículos espaciales para llevar a cabo maniobras no atmosféricas. Este tipo de motores cohete ha estado presente en numerosas aplicaciones en las últimas décadas y sus usos van desde el mantenimiento de la posición orbital de satélites comerciales a transferencias interplanetarias en misiones de exploración. La mayor ventaja de los numerosos tipos de propulsores eléctricos es su capacidad de proporcionar un determinado impulso a un coste de propelente reducido, en comparación con otros tipos de propulsión. El desarrollo de los motores de plasma, la clase más común de propulsor eléctrico, se ha visto impedido en mayor medida que los cohetes químicos, por ejemplo, debido a la complejidad de la interacción de los fenómenos físicos y a dificultades asociadas con las campañas experimentales. En las últimas dos décadas se ha introducido el uso de simulaciones numéricas para ayudar a la caracterización de estos aparatos. A pesar de que el diseño asistido por ordenador juega aún un papel muy reducido, el incremento de recursos computacionales y la creciente exactitud de los modelos físicos han permitido a estas simulaciones describir numerosos mecanismos físicos, explorar el espacio de diseño de estos aparatos y complementar los ensayos experimentales. Esta tesis está centrada en el estudio numérico de la población de electrones en descargas de plasma poco colisionales, bajo la influencia de campos eléctricos y magnéticos. El trabajo realizado ha contribuido al desarrollo de una nueva herramienta de simulación híbrida, cuasi-neutra, bidimensional y axisimétrica, denominada HYPHEN; su naturaleza híbrida se debe al tratamiento por separado de las especies pesadas, descritas a través de un conocido método de partículas, y de la población de electrones, descrita como un fluido. Una de nuestras mayores contribuciones es la introducciÃsn de un modelo anisotrÃspico de dos temperaturas, que permite capturar los efectos de la falta de uniformidad del campo magnético sobre el transporte de electornes. Esta función abre el camino para la caracterización de nuevos propulsores electromagnéticos. Actualemente, el código está orientado hacia la simulación de las regiones del canal y de la pluma cercana en motores de efecto Hall, en los que se enfoca esta tesis. Parte del trabajo se ha dedicado a dotar al código de las capacidades necesarias para la simulación de topologías magnéticas complejas. El presente documento detalla la motivación detrás de HYPHEN, su metodología de diseño y la influencia de trabajos previos. Se ha prestado una especial atención al modelo fluido propuesto, detallando el uso de una malla alineada con el campo magnético para el tratamiento numérico de la población confinada de electrones, para la cual se han utilizado diversos métodos ad-hoc de discretización temporal y espacial. Varios modelos auxiliares también se han descrito, con el objetivo de caracterizar la respuesta de la capa límite del plasma y de los distintos procesos colisionales en el seno del mismo. Se presenta también el estudio de los aspectos numéricos del modelo fluido, incluyendo la sensibilidad a condiciones iniciales, a los valores del paso temporal, el refinamiento de la malla, etc. Finalmente, HYPHEN se ha testeado para la configuración de un conocido motor Hall. Los resultados demuestran que las propiedades físicas y las actuaciones obtenidas son comparables con resultados provenientes de estudios experimentales. Bajo este contexto, se ha llevado a cabo un estudio paramétrico para determinar la dependencia de la respuesta del motor con algunos de los parámetros más relevantes del modelo, tales como el transporte anómalo de electrones o la fracción de termalización de la capa límite, y con los diferentes modelos colisionales. ; Electric propulsion is an established technology used for non-atmospheric spacecraft maneuvering. This type of rockets have been present in numerous applications in the last decades, and their uses range from station keeping of commercial satellites to interplanetary transfers in deep space exploration missions. While electric propulsion thrusters are multi-faceted, presenting numerous and distinct types, their best selling point is the capability to deliver a given impulse at much lower propellant cost, in comparison to other types of propulsion. The maturation of plasma thrusters, the most common type of electric propulsion devices, has faced more limitations than chemical rockets, for example, due to the complexity of the physical interactions at play, and the difficulties associated with experimental campaigns. Over the past two decades, numerical simulations were introduced as a novel tool in the characterization of these devices. While true computer-aided-design is not yet a reality, the increment of computational resources and the heightened fidelity of the physical models have allowed to describe numerous physical mechanisms, explore the design space of these devices and complement experimental testing. This thesis focuses on the numerical study of the electron population in weakly collisional plasma discharges, under the influence of applied magnetic and electric fields. The work has been a primary contribution in the development of a new, quasi-neutral, two-dimensional, axisymmetric, hybrid simulation tool, called HYPHEN. Its hybrid nature responds to the different treatment of the heavy species populations, described through a well known discrete-particle approach, and the electron population, described as a fluid. One of our main contributions has been the introduction of a two-temperature anisotropic approach, which allows capturing of the magnetic non-uniformity effects over electron transport; this feature paves the way for the characterization of some novel electromagnetic propulsion technologies. Presently, the code is oriented to the simulation of the channel and near-plume regions in Hall effect thrusters, which have been the main focal point of the thesis. Dedicated efforts have been directed to providing the capabilities for the simulation of the plasma under complex magnetic field topologies. The manuscript details the motivation and design methodology behind HYPHEN, as well as the influence of previous work. Special attention has been given to the particularities of the proposed fluid model; this includes the use of a magnetic field aligned mesh for the numerical treatment of the electron population under magnetic confinement, for which ad-hoc spatial and temporal discretization methods have been proposed. Additional ancillary physical models have also been developed, characterizing the response of plasma boundary layers and the various collisional processes in the plasma. The numerical aspects of the model have been investigated, including the sensitivity to initial conditions, time-step values, mesh refinement, etc. Finally, HYPHEN has been tested in the context of a representative Hall-thruster configuration. The results were found to be in line with experimentally reported thruster performances and plasma discharge quantities. Additionally, a parametric investigation has been carried out in order to investigate the dependency of the thruster response with the most relevant model parameters, such as the anomalous electron transport or the boundary layer thermalization fraction, and the different collisional models. ; This work has been partially supported by the CHEOPS project, that received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, under grant agreement No. 730135. Additional support came from Project ESP2016-75887, funded by the National research and development program of Spain. ; Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Plasmas y Fusión Nuclear ; Presidente: José Javier Honrubia Checa.- Secretario: Mario Merino Martínez.- Vocal: Paul-Quentin Elias