Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

Ddas: "Accidents" Or "Incidents", Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

When I started writing about demining accidents I tried to form a sensible distinction between the terms "accident" and "incident". I decided to call an unintended explosive event (or an intended explosive event that resulted in injury) an "incident". This was because an "Incident report" would be generated from which lessons that might prevent repetition of the event might be derived. I noted that the word "accident" was used for all unintended occurrences, from dropping the kettle to a car crash, but did not always apply to an intentional event that resulted in an injury. So, at that time, the ...

Ddas: Introduction, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

The DDAS software was designed by me in 1998 using the Microsoft Access engine and a Visual Basic front-end. This was revised and became a relational database in 2003. The software can be used to display existing datasets or to record your own. Field names can be edited and replaced with names in another language and the content of dropdown pick-lists is easily customised. Originally distributed on CD, it is not generally given out any more but despite being dated and cludgy, it can still be used many later operating systems.

Ddas: Manual Demining Handtool Design Criteria, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

The research I have carried out on tool development has been based on accident studies, field trials and my experience in both demining and in manufacturing in small workshops. The research led to the evolution of the following criteria and constraints. I believe that these are essential requirements when designing hand-tools for use when excavating anti-personnel blast mines. Tools used during other demining activities may not have the same requirements.

Ddas: Metal Detector Set-Up, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

There must always be absolute confidence in the metal-detector’s ability to locate the target device at the required depth before Metal-detector clearance drills are applied. It is important to set-up the metal-detector appropriately for two main reasons. First it gives the Supervisors confidence that the ground can be cleared to the required depth. Second, it gives the deminers confidence that they can and will find every mine.

What follows is a basic procedure for use with all the current models of metal-detector that I know. It is intended to provide a basis that you can edit and refine to ...

Ddas Or Rapid?, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

In 2015, Tajikistan became the first country to make all of its demining accident data available. Congratulations to the Tajikistan National Mine Action Centre (TNMAC), a government controlled body that has set an international standard for transparency.

Despite its popularity, and the frequent reference made to the database when updating international and national Mine Action standards, the DDAS has no formal support.

The nominal Humanitarian Mine Action industry leader is the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS). UNMAS make no effort to collect and study accident records but, in 2011 when I left the IMAS Review Board, they began to ...

Ddas Suggested Training Uses: Deminer Training, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

The database provides real-world examples that can be used as training aids. This will often reinforce what is considered to be common sense. Be aware that the database records prove (beyond reasonable doubt) that some commonsense wisdom is incorrect.

For example, it is a myth that the most dangerous time for deminers is shortly after their initial training. On the contrary, there is some evidence to suggest that deminers actually become more likely to have an accident the longer they work as a deminer.

Ddas Suggested Training Uses: Paramedic Training, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

The examples of medical treatment in the database are rarely well detailed. When they are, they provide examples of both "positive" and "negative" responses to accidents. some of the worst negative responses are not the responsibility of the medic - who were simply not provided with the equipment or ambulance that they need. Parts of the reports may be used in lectures or presentations or they can be distributed for critical discussion.

Ddas Suggested Training Uses: Management Training, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

Increasingly, managers in HD are management specialists with little or no field experience. If so, they usually delegate responsibility for training and operational needs to another person, often an "Ops Manager". The manager or Ops Manager will be in charge of all training and/or refresher training, so they should read the training suggestions for deminers, paramedics and field supervisors as well as those given here.

Because the accident database is a collection of reports covering events when things did not go as planned, the examples drawn from it are usually "negative" - what not to do, rather than what to ...

North Korea And The Nucleus Of Denuclearization, Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes common operant conditioning principles contributing to the seeming intractability of ‘denuclearizing’ the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea.

Praxites And Mal-Praxites In Psychological Research: Hoaxes, Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes intrinsic problems with the pursuit of psychological knowledge in a socio-political world.

Project Proposal: The Jentay Group, Edward Vasquez

HSEM 494 Practicum/Capstone Project

The following document contains material that connects to the emergency preparedness side of homeland security. The Jentay Group is a small company that brings advanced composites to the industrial market. Their work can be seen in the aerospace and unmanned vehicle industry, the automotive industry and the medical industry (Jentay, 2018). The team of 11 works out of a 4500 ft² building located in Beaverton, Oregon. Beaverton is located in the Portland metropolitan area, which boasts a population of approximately 2.4 million (Beaverton Oregon, 2018). These statistics place the headquarters in a heavily populated area, which could bring ...

Ddas: The Database Of Demining Accidents - A Driving Force In Hma, Humanitarian Demining Accident And Incident Database

Global CWD Repository

I started the Database of Demining Accidents (DDAS) in 1998 using public data gathered for the United States Army Communications-Electronics Command, Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate. When they declined to publish and update the database, I did so with their tacit approval but no funding support. I did this in the hope of improving safety for deminers. The database is an easy-to use system containing the original demining accident reports overlaid with easy-search summaries.

More On The Fakeness Of Fake News, Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies occurrences within the process of news production and also examples of psychological research which mitigate against the construct of fake news.

Organizational Psychology: The Entrance To, Residing In, And Exit From Sensitive Positions, Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies psychological problems and promise in identifying those in sensitive positions within organizations who may betray, are betraying, and have betrayed trust.

Israelis And Palestinians: Does Bringing Them Together Keep Them Apart?, Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies psychological complexities when interaction and cooperation among adversaries are presumed to reduce conflict.

Writing The Official History Of The Joint Intelligence Committee, Michael Goodman

Secrecy and Society

This article recounts the experience of a professional historian in being given the keys to the kingdom: access to the classified vaults of Britain’s Joint Intelligence Committee. This article includes some of the problems in having access, but complying with the sensitivities around official accounts, difficulties in writing a global history, or trying to make the work of a committee interesting and accessible, and of trying to determine the impact of intelligence on policy.

Historical Amnesia: British And U.S. Intelligence, Past And Present, Calder Walton

Secrecy and Society

Many intelligence scandals in the news today seem unprecedented - from Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, to British and U.S. intelligence agencies monitoring activities of their citizens. They seem new largely because, traditionally, intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic were excessively secretive about their past activities: even the names “GCHQ” and “NSA” were airbrushed from declassified records, and thus missing from major historical works and scholarship on on post-war international relations. The resulting secrecy about British and U.S. intelligence has led to misunderstandings and conspiracy theories in societies about them. Newly opened secret ...

Collaboration And Research Practice In Intelligence, Minna Räsänen

Secrecy and Society

Close, intensive research collaboration between universities, companies, and the public sector can open up new and different opportunities for qualitative research, and provide analytic and empirical insights that otherwise might be difficult to obtain. The aim of this paper is to explore collaboration as a means of doing research with the intelligence community. Experiences from a research project concerning dilemmas the practitioners face in their organization within the Swedish Armed Forces, serve as a starting point for this reflective discussion. It is argued here that collaboration is suitable when change is required. The mutual learning between the actors feeds into ...

Ethnographic Research In The U.S. Intelligence Community: Opportunities And Challenges, Bridget Nolan

Secrecy and Society

This article considers lessons learned from conducting research inside the intelligence community. Drawing on a year of ethnographic field work and interviews at the National Counterterrorism Center, I show that “boundary personnel”- people who navigate between the worlds of academia and national security - provide value added in the form of tacit knowledge that outside researchers would not be able to deliver. At the same time, these people face delays, challenges to freedom of information, and ethical considerations that are unique to their positions. Despite setbacks, social scientists must continue their engagement with national security organizations to further our understanding of ...

Secrecy Vs. Disclosure Of The Intelligence Community Budget: An Enduring Debate, Anne Daugherty Miles

Secrecy and Society

Little known U.S. congressional documents, dating from the 1970s, debate public disclosure of Intelligence Community (IC) budget. The documents offer a rich repository of the arguments on both sides of the debate and shine a light on the thoughtful, measured congressional oversight practiced in formative years of the House and Senate intelligence committees.