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2012

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Combat Identification Of Synthetic Aperture Radar Images Using Contextual Features And Bayesian Belief Networks, John X. Situ Mar 2012

Combat Identification Of Synthetic Aperture Radar Images Using Contextual Features And Bayesian Belief Networks, John X. Situ

Theses and Dissertations

Given the nearly infinite combination of modifications and configurations for weapon systems, no two targets are ever exactly the same. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery and associated High Range Resolution (HRR) profiles of the same target will have different signatures when viewed from different angles. To overcome this challenge, data from a wide range of aspect and depression angles must be used to train pattern recognition algorithms. Alternatively, features invariant to aspect and depression angle must be found. This research uses simple segmentation algorithms and multivariate analysis methods to extract contextual features from SAR imagery. These features used in conjunction …

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The Strategic Level Optimization Of Air To Ground Missiles For Turkish Air Force Decision Support System, Nurdinc Senay Mar 2012

The Strategic Level Optimization Of Air To Ground Missiles For Turkish Air Force Decision Support System, Nurdinc Senay

Theses and Dissertations

Inventory Management is one of the most important elements in military systems, especially if it is an ammunition inventory. To determine the optimum types and levels of ammunition a military needs, the probable needs of each type have to be calculated in peace time. Although the Turkish Air Force has Strategic Plans that show detailed potential war scenarios, there are many different ways to accomplish a war mission depending on the type of ammunition that is used. In this research, the need for air-to-ground missiles is calculated using a Weapon-Target Assignment algorithm with cost minimization, bomb usage minimization, and effect …

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Forecasting Effects Of Influence Operations: A Generative Social Science Methodology, Christopher W. Weimer Mar 2012

Forecasting Effects Of Influence Operations: A Generative Social Science Methodology, Christopher W. Weimer

Theses and Dissertations

Simulation enables analysis of social systems that would be difficult or unethical to experiment upon directly. Agent-based models have been used successfully in the field of generative social science to discover parsimonious sets of factors that generate social behavior. This methodology provides an avenue to explore the spread of anti-government sentiment in populations and to compare the effects of potential Military Information Support Operations (MISO) actions. This research develops an agent-based model to investigate factors that affect the growth of rebel uprisings in a notional population. It adds to the civil violence model developed by Epstein (2006) by enabling communication …

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Comparative Analysis Of Two Biological Warfare Air Samplers Using Live Surrogate Agents, James C. Enderby Mar 2012

Comparative Analysis Of Two Biological Warfare Air Samplers Using Live Surrogate Agents, James C. Enderby

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force has several high-volume biological air samplers, including the XMX/2L-MIL and the Biocapture 650. Limited information is available on either in terms of its collection of viruses and bacteria. However, previous research on the XMX/2L-MIL has determined that modifications to the secondary flow rate and the use of a virus preserving collection media may provide improved virus collection rates. In this thesis, these modifications were investigated to determine their impact on the collection of viral and bacterial aerosols. Additionally, relative collection rates were compared against those for the Biocapture 650. MS2 bacteriophage was the viral surrogate …

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Streamlining The Change-Over Protocol For The Rpa Mission Intelligence Coordinator By Way Of Situation Awareness Oriented Design And Discrete Event Simulation, John P. Machuca Mar 2012

Streamlining The Change-Over Protocol For The Rpa Mission Intelligence Coordinator By Way Of Situation Awareness Oriented Design And Discrete Event Simulation, John P. Machuca

Theses and Dissertations

Incredible loiter times coupled with the ability to make extremely detailed collections at significant stand-off distances with a relatively expendable platform has made demand for, and diversity of, Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) operations grow at voracious rates. Conversely, financial resources are becoming increasingly constrained. As such, innovators are looking to maximize the effectiveness of existing personnel and assets by considering concepts such as simultaneous Multiple Aircraft Control (MAC) by a single aircrew. Research has identified procedural inefficiencies in current operations as well as substantial impediments to MAC implementation, including dynamic task saturation and communication challenges. An identified inefficiency afflicting both …

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Analysis Of The Impact Of Data Normalization On Cyber Event Correlation Query Performance, Smile T. Ludovice Mar 2012

Analysis Of The Impact Of Data Normalization On Cyber Event Correlation Query Performance, Smile T. Ludovice

Theses and Dissertations

A critical capability required in the operation of cyberspace is the ability to maintain situational awareness of the status of the infrastructure elements that constitute cyberspace. Event logs from cyber devices can yield significant information, and when properly utilized they can provide timely situational awareness about the state of the cyber infrastructure. In addition, proper Information Assurance requires the validation and verification of the integrity of results generated by a commercial log analysis tool. Event log analysis can be performed using relational databases. To enhance database query performance, previous literatures affirm denormalization of databases. Yet database normalization can also increase …

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Biodegradation Of Organophosphate Chemical Warfare Agents By Activated Sludge, Steven J. Schuldt Mar 2012

Biodegradation Of Organophosphate Chemical Warfare Agents By Activated Sludge, Steven J. Schuldt

Theses and Dissertations

Organophosphates (OPs) have been widely used as Chemical Warfare Agents (CWAs) as well as pesticides since World War II and still remain a threat to national security. While efforts have been taken at military installations and civilian communities to secure these chemicals and prevent their misuse, a determined adversary could still obtain and deploy them to injure, kill, or instill terror. The lethal properties of this group of compounds are primarily owed to their irreversible inhibition of the enzyme acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) and thus may alter the human nervous system or affect the hormonal balance of children in particular. In …

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Binary Classification Of An Unknown Object Through Atmospheric Turbulence Using A Polarimetric Blind-Deconvolution Algorithm Augmented With Adaptive Degree Of Linear Polarization Priors, Mu J. Kim Mar 2012

Binary Classification Of An Unknown Object Through Atmospheric Turbulence Using A Polarimetric Blind-Deconvolution Algorithm Augmented With Adaptive Degree Of Linear Polarization Priors, Mu J. Kim

Theses and Dissertations

This research develops an enhanced material-classification algorithm to discriminate between metals and dielectrics using passive polarimetric imagery degraded by atmospheric turbulence. To improve the performance of the existing technique for near-normal collection geometries, the proposed algorithm adaptively updates the degree of linear polarization (DoLP) priors as more information becomes available about the scene. Three adaptive approaches are presented. The higher-order super-Gaussian method fits the distribution of DoLP estimates with a sum of two super-Gaussian functions to update the priors. The Gaussian method computes the classification threshold value, from which the priors are updated, by fitting the distribution of DoLP estimates …

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Timing Variations In A Magnetic Pulse Compression Circuit, Jeremy S. Oliver Mar 2012

Timing Variations In A Magnetic Pulse Compression Circuit, Jeremy S. Oliver

Theses and Dissertations

The magnetic pulse compression (MPC) circuit uses saturable core inductors and capacitors to compress the width of a pulse. This substantially increases the peak power of the initially applied pulse. The saturable inductor exhibits a hysteresis curve behavior. One particular problem with these MPC circuits is timing variances in the pulse rate of the system. This work models the unique characteristics and signatures of the timing variations of magnetic switches and pulse compressors. The hysteresis curve of the saturable inductor was created by using a nonlinear inductor and a nonlinear resistor in parallel as a substitute for saturable inductors. The …

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A Black Hole Attack Model For Reactive Ad-Hoc Protocols, Christopher W. Badenhop Mar 2012

A Black Hole Attack Model For Reactive Ad-Hoc Protocols, Christopher W. Badenhop

Theses and Dissertations

Net-Centric Warfare places the network in the center of all operations, making it a critical resource to attack and defend during wartime. This thesis examines one particular network attack, the Black Hole attack, to determine if an analytical model can be used to predict the impact of this attack on ad-hoc networks. An analytical Black Hole attack model is developed for reactive ad-hoc network protocols DSR and AODV. To simplify topology analysis, a hypercube topology is used to approximate ad-hoc topologies that have the same average node degree. An experiment is conducted to compare the predicted results of the analytical …

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Low Cost, Low Complexity Sensor Design For Non-Cooperative Geolocation Via Received Signal Strength, Michael S. Butler Mar 2012

Low Cost, Low Complexity Sensor Design For Non-Cooperative Geolocation Via Received Signal Strength, Michael S. Butler

Theses and Dissertations

Obtaining accurate non-cooperative geolocation is vital for persistent surveillance of a hostile emitter. Current research for developing a small, cheap and energy efficient sensor network for non-cooperative geolocation measurements via received signal strength (RSS) is limited. Most existing work focuses on simulating a non-cooperative network (NN) and in doing so, simulated models often ignore localization errors caused from the hardware processing raw RSS data and often model environment-dependent errors as random. By comparing real-time measured non-cooperative geolocation data to a simulated system a more accurate model can be developed. This thesis discusses the development and performance of a small, low …

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Boundary Layer Measurements In The Trisonic Gas-Dynamics Facility Using Particle Image Velocimetry With Co₂ Seeding, Daniel B. Wolfe Mar 2012

Boundary Layer Measurements In The Trisonic Gas-Dynamics Facility Using Particle Image Velocimetry With Co₂ Seeding, Daniel B. Wolfe

Theses and Dissertations

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is utilized with solid carbon dioxide (CO2) seeding material to conduct boundary layer measurements in the test section of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Trisonic Gas-dynamics Facility (TGF), which has a 24 inch by 24 inch cross-section. Freestream velocity was set at Mach 0.3, Mach 0.5, or Mach 0.8 while stagnation pressure ranged from 500 to 2400 pounds per square foot (psf). High pressure liquid CO2 was directed through expansion nozzles into shroud tubes which led to solidified particles in the wind tunnel stagnation chamber. Two different sets of shroud tubes were used …

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A Women-Only Comparision Of The U.S. Air Force Fitness Test And The Marine Combat Fitness Test, Tarah D. Mitchell Mar 2012

A Women-Only Comparision Of The U.S. Air Force Fitness Test And The Marine Combat Fitness Test, Tarah D. Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

In 2009, Captain Thomas Worden determined the Air Force Physical Fitness Test (AFPFT) poorly predicted combat capability for his 86 study participants. With only 5 of these 86 volunteers being women, this limited Worden's findings to primarily men. This follow-on research investigated whether these results carried over to women. We recruited 61 female volunteers and compared their performance on the AFPFT to the Marine Combat Fitness Test, the proxy for combat capability. Like Worden's research, we discovered little association between the two (R2 of 0.161). However, this association significantly increased (adj R2 of 0.572) when utilizing the raw …

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Computational Analysis And Characterization Of Rc-135 External Aerodynamics, Michael G. Chenery Mar 2012

Computational Analysis And Characterization Of Rc-135 External Aerodynamics, Michael G. Chenery

Theses and Dissertations

Both the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint (RJ) and the RC-135U Combat Sent (CS) aircraft are United States Air Force (USAF) electronics reconnaissance platforms. The RJ is the USAF's standard airborne signals intelligence (SIGINT) gathering platform, while the CS is designed to collect technical intelligence on adversary radar emitter systems. Both aircraft are extensively modified C-135's characterized by protruding cheek fairings along the sides of the fuselage forward of the wings as well as the addition of numerous antennas along the top and bottom of the fuselage. The major distinguishing feature between the two variants is the nose radome, wherein the RJ …

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The Daily Gamecock, Thursday, March 22, 2012, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media Mar 2012

The Daily Gamecock, Thursday, March 22, 2012, University Of South Carolina, Office Of Student Media

March

No abstract provided.

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Value Focused Thinking For Nation Building In Afghanistan: A Regional Perspective, Muhammad S. Riaz Mar 2012

Value Focused Thinking For Nation Building In Afghanistan: A Regional Perspective, Muhammad S. Riaz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an effort to mathematically model the nation building effort that is underway in Afghanistan. The thesis examines this nation building effort from the perspective of a local person who understands Afghan culture better than a foreigner. The thesis employs value-focused thinking to categorize the factors that we need to focus on for nation building in descending order of priority. This research adds a new dimension to the models already available in the literature and is likely to be more readily embraced by the local people who are sometimes in conflict with American priorities.

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Using Multiattribute Utility Copulas In Support Of Uav Search And Destroy Operations, Beau A. Nunnally Mar 2012

Using Multiattribute Utility Copulas In Support Of Uav Search And Destroy Operations, Beau A. Nunnally

Theses and Dissertations

The multiattribute utility copula is an emerging form of utility function used by decision analysts to study decisions with dependent attributes. Failure to properly address attribute dependence may cause errors in selecting the optimal policy. This research examines two scenarios of interest to the modern warfighter. The first scenario employs a utility copula to determine the type, quantity, and altitude of UAVs to be sent to strike a stationary target. The second scenario employs a utility copula to examine the impact of attribute dependence on the optimal routing of UAVs in a contested operational environment when performing a search and …

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Context Aware Routing Management Architecture For Airborne Networks, Joan A. Betances Mar 2012

Context Aware Routing Management Architecture For Airborne Networks, Joan A. Betances

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis advocates the use of Kalman filters in conjunction with network topology information derived from the Air Tasking Order (ATO) during the planning phase for military missions. This approach is the basis for an algorithm that implements network controls that optimize network performance for Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET). The trajectories of relevant nodes (airborne platforms) participating in the MANET can be forecasted by parsing key information contained in the ATO. This information is used to develop optimum network routes that can significantly improve MANET performance. Improved MANET performance in the battlefield enables decision makers to access information from …

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Detector Design Considerations In High-Dimensional Artificial Immune Systems, Jason M. Bindewald Mar 2012

Detector Design Considerations In High-Dimensional Artificial Immune Systems, Jason M. Bindewald

Theses and Dissertations

This research lays the groundwork for a network intrusion detection system that can operate with only knowledge of normal network traffic, using a process known as anomaly detection. Real-valued negative selection (RNS) is a specific anomaly detection algorithm that can be used to perform two-class classification when only one class is available for training. Researchers have shown fundamental problems with the most common detector shape, hyperspheres, in high-dimensional space. The research contained herein shows that the second most common detector type, hypercubes, can also cause problems due to biasing certain features in high dimensions. To address these problems, a new …

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Decision Analysis Using Value-Focused Thinking For Retention Of Long-Term Officers In The Korean Army, Jaebum Kim Mar 2012

Decision Analysis Using Value-Focused Thinking For Retention Of Long-Term Officers In The Korean Army, Jaebum Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The North Korean attacks on the South Korean naval vessel, the Cheonan, and on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in 2010 have resulted in the deterioration of the relationship between North and South Korea. The death of Kim Jong Il in December 2011 has raised serious concerns over the future of North Korea and political stability on the Korean Peninsula. Against this background, South Korea has continued its agenda of military reform to improve the retention and management of its military personnel. However, South Korea needs better methods and measures for evaluating its personnel to distinguish highly qualified officers …

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Improving Effectiveness Of Monetary Weapon Systems In Afghanistan, Seth M. Lorimer Mar 2012

Improving Effectiveness Of Monetary Weapon Systems In Afghanistan, Seth M. Lorimer

Theses and Dissertations

Tenuous political and economic times call for increased oversight and improved results from military counterinsurgency programs in Afghanistan, programs that provide agile non-kinetic weapons, critical for commanders fighting in today's asymmetric battle space. This paper proposes a decision tool for construction projects executed under the Commanders Emergency Response Program, designed to meet the changing demands of fighting an amorphous insurgency among dynamic systems of stakeholders. The research first conducted a system analysis of the CERP project execution process identifying key findings addressing value adding inputs. The research then applies a Causal Chain, borrowed from the Emergency Management field to identify …

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Stabilizing Acetylcholinesterase On Carbon Electrodes Using Peptide Nanotubes To Produce Effective Biosensors, Todd J. Stevens Mar 2012

Stabilizing Acetylcholinesterase On Carbon Electrodes Using Peptide Nanotubes To Produce Effective Biosensors, Todd J. Stevens

Theses and Dissertations

A biosensor for the detection of organophosphates in water was created by immobilizing acetylcholinesterase (AChE) on a carbon screen printed electrode using peptide nanotubes (PNT) and Nafion®. This sensor was used with acetylthiocholine (ASCh) substrate to detect the inhibitory effects of malathion. The stability of the encapsulated enzyme was measured over 50 days of storage at 4°C in a phosphate buffer solution. The oxidation of thiocholine, a product of the enzymatic reaction of ASCh and AChE, was used to measure the activity of the encapsulated enzyme. Cyclic voltammograms were taken in an ASCh and phosphate buffer solution, and the peak …

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Computer Aided Multi-Data Fusion Dismount Modeling, Juan L. Morales Mar 2012

Computer Aided Multi-Data Fusion Dismount Modeling, Juan L. Morales

Theses and Dissertations

Recent research efforts strive to address the growing need for dismount surveillance, dismount tracking and characterization. Current work in this area utilizes hyperspectral and multispectral imaging systems to exploit spectral properties in order to detect areas of exposed skin and clothing characteristics. Because of the large bandwidth and high resolution, hyperspectral imaging systems pose great ability to characterize and detect dismounts. A multi-data dismount modeling system where the development and manipulation of dismount models is a necessity. This thesis demonstrates a computer aided multi-data fused dismount model, which facilitates studies of dismount detection, characterization and identification. The system is created …

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All Source Sensor Integration Using An Extended Kalman Filter, Timothy R. Penn Mar 2012

All Source Sensor Integration Using An Extended Kalman Filter, Timothy R. Penn

Theses and Dissertations

The global positioning system (GPS) has become an ubiquitous source for navigation in the modern age, especially since the removal of selective availability at the beginning of this century. The utility of the GPS is unmatched, however GPS is not available in all environments. Heavy reliance on GPS for navigation makes the warfighter increasingly vulnerability as modern warfare continues to evolve. This research provides a method for incorporating measurements from a massive variety of sensors to mitigate GPS dependence. The result is the integration of sensor sets that encompass those examined in recent literature as well as some custom navigation …

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Mfire-2: A Multi Agent System For Flow-Based Intrusion Detection Using Stochastic Search, Timothy J. Wilson Mar 2012

Mfire-2: A Multi Agent System For Flow-Based Intrusion Detection Using Stochastic Search, Timothy J. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Detecting attacks targeted against military and commercial computer networks is a crucial element in the domain of cyberwarfare. The traditional method of signature-based intrusion detection is a primary mechanism to alert administrators to malicious activity. However, signature-based methods are not capable of detecting new or novel attacks. This research continues the development of a novel simulated, multiagent, flow-based intrusion detection system called MFIRE. Agents in the network are trained to recognize common attacks, and they share data with other agents to improve the overall effectiveness of the system. A Support Vector Machine (SVM) is the primary classifier with which agents …

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Using Vft As A Constraint For Goal Programming Models: A Case Study For Turkish Air Force Flying Hour Program, Ahmet Bengoz Mar 2012

Using Vft As A Constraint For Goal Programming Models: A Case Study For Turkish Air Force Flying Hour Program, Ahmet Bengoz

Theses and Dissertations

In its 60-year history, there have been many published documents in the literature about goal programming (GP), but contributions to the literature are still needed. This research intends to add to the literature on goal-programming models by discussing one of the key assumptions of GP regarding linearity, and by discussing some of the issues regarding incommensurability (difference in data types) and weighting. GP requires an interaction between the decision maker (DM) and the analyst to ensure that the model reflects the DM's preferences. However, it may be difficult for them to interact if the mathematical model is very large and …

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The Prospector, March 22, 2012, Utep Student Publications Mar 2012

The Prospector, March 22, 2012, Utep Student Publications

The Prospector

Headline: Union Shuffle

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War Criminal Or Just Plain Felon? Whether Providing Material Support For Terrorism Violates The Laws Of War And Is Thus Punishable By Military Commission, T. Jack Morse Mar 2012

War Criminal Or Just Plain Felon? Whether Providing Material Support For Terrorism Violates The Laws Of War And Is Thus Punishable By Military Commission, T. Jack Morse

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

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Responding To American Indian Communities: Southwest American Indian Collaborative Network (Saicn) Cancer Educational Activities, Naomi A. Lane, Kathleen Evans, Agnes Attakai, Catherine Witte, Maylynn Riding In-Warne, Kathryn Coe Mar 2012

Responding To American Indian Communities: Southwest American Indian Collaborative Network (Saicn) Cancer Educational Activities, Naomi A. Lane, Kathleen Evans, Agnes Attakai, Catherine Witte, Maylynn Riding In-Warne, Kathryn Coe

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Developing educational materials and providing trainings in American Indian communities is a highly rewarding activity. However, to do so successfully a number of complex issues must be faced and cultural-tailored strategies to promote awareness must be developed based on the unique traditions of each tribe. In this paper we describe the educational activities conducted over a four year period by the Southwest American Indian Collaborative Network, a project funded by the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. Activities fell into two broad areas: dissemination of cancer information through trainings and workshops and development of culturally-tailored educational materials.

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Post-Conflict Cultural Revival And Social Restructuring In Northern Uganda, Erin Cagney Mar 2012

Post-Conflict Cultural Revival And Social Restructuring In Northern Uganda, Erin Cagney

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

In northern Uganda, cultural revival has become a major topic of concern after the decades-long civil conflict that displaced 1.9 million people. During that time, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abducted an estimated 20,000 children and adults as mercenaries, porters, and sex slaves, and killed and mutilated thousands of others. The LRA wreaked general havoc on the entire northern population, contributing to the ensuing psychological and physical traumas that accompany such an experience. In the chaos and devastation of the protracted conflict, many cultural practices have fallen to the wayside, including dances, songs, folktales, marriage rites, social norms and rules, …

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