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Copyright of TÜBA-AR: Turkish Academy of Sciences, Journal of Archaeology is the property of Turkish Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper addresses the problem of discriminating underwater unexploded ordnance (UXO) from non-UXO objects using manifold learning principles when applied to data collected from low-frequency sonar. Our classification hypothesis is that the sequence of measurements collected from an object lie in some low-dimensional subspace which is locally linear but globally nonlinear. These low-dimensional features and their behavior on the manifold can then be used to discriminate among various UXO and non-UXO objects that may be encountered in shallow water environments. With this goal in mind, techniques are developed to not only learn the manifold but also to provide an out-of-sample embedding for newly acquired data. The manifold features from the training set are then used to construct local linear subspaces for representing each newly embedded testing feature vector. A statistical-based technique is then used to select the most likely class label by finding the class which best represents the data. The ability of the classifier to discriminate among multiple object types is then demonstrated using a sonar data set collected from underwater objects in a controlled setting. Classification results are presented and compared with an alternative method that also relies on a set of features extracted using manifold learning principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologia Postmedievale is the property of Edizioni all'Insegna del Giglio and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Unexploded ordnance (UXO, also referred to as munitions) are located in nearshore and other underwater environments as a result of military activities. UXO have been found in the surf zone and on populated beaches. This paper describes the development and evaluation of instrumented UXO surrogates for observing munitions migration and burial. Surrogates were designed and fabricated to match mass properties for a variety of common munitions (81-mm Mortar, BLU-61 Cluster Bomb, M151-70 Hydra Rocket, M107 155-mm). Surrogates housed suites of self-logging sensors. Sensor suites that could record up to 7–12 h included various combinations of inertial motion units (IMUs), pressure transducers, shock recorders, and photocells. Instrumented surrogates were then exposed to prototype scale wave conditions over a mobile bed at the Littoral Warfare Environment at the Aberdeen Test Center, Aberdeen, MD, USA. Surrogates were deployed in the swash and breaker zones. IMUs and shock recorders provided congruent acceleration measurements of swash impact. IMUs accurately resolved heading and orientation during periods of low-frequency motion. Photocells resolved surrogate roll consistent with IMU as well as surrogate burial. However, in the breaker zone, the large presence of suspended sediment and surface foam make photocell data more difficult to interpret. Surrogate mobility and forcing conditions measurements can provide data to improve modeling of munitions burial and migration in the nearshore environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the development of a system for the discrimination of military munitions and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in shallow underwater environments. Acoustic color features corresponding to calibrated target strength as a function of frequency and look angle are generated from the raw sonar returns for munition characterization. A matched subspace classifier (MSC) is designed to discriminate between different classes of detected contacts based upon the spectral content of the sonar backscatter. The system is exclusively trained using model-generated sonar data and then tested using the measured Target and Reverberation Experiment 2013 (TREX13) data sets collected from a synthetic aperture sonar system in a relatively low-clutter environment. A new in situ supervised learning method is also developed to incrementally train the MSC using a limited number of labeled samples drawn from the TREX13 data sets. The classification results of the MSC are presented using standard performance metrics, such as receiver operating characteristic curve and confusion matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the views of Mr. Marseille related to the possession of nuclear weapons. The author emphasized that Marseille attacks the Russell-Einstein appeal which was signed by ten eminent scientists. The author pointed out that the whole doctrine of liberty of opinion contended that there should be free competition among ideas and that the competition should be conducted by argument not by force. The author believed that the changed circumstances have compelled a change of policy, but the new policy has precisely the same sincerity as the old one and has the same main purpose which is to preserve the human race.

The light machine guns are among the significant fire support guns for the infantry. While the rapid advances in technology are improving the quality, these are also increasing the diversity, increasing the research carried out in the existing institutions and organisations. This is making the decision problem faced during the process complicated as well. To solve such problems, multiple criteria decision making methods are used. In this study, the selection of the light machine guns has been dealt as a multiple criteria decision making problem. To decide about the best machine gun, selection criteria of the best light machine gun is evaluated within a systematic feedback and a model pertaining to using Analytical Network Process (ANP) in the selection of the weapons has been developed. The criteria pertaining to the alternative weapons have been determined, the necessary polls have been prepared and applied, and the results have been achieved using the Super Decisions 1.6.0 package program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear weapons' effects on an actor's success in coercive diplomacy are in part a function of how nuclear weapons change the perceived costs of conflict. The authors argue that states can improve their allotment of a good or convince an opponent to back down and have shorter crises if their opponents have greater expected costs of crisis. Noting that nuclear weapons increase the costs of full-escalation scenarios but decrease their probability, it is uncertain what impact nuclear weapons should have on expected costs of conflict. The authors assess crisis outcomes from 1945 to 2000 using the International Crisis Behavior data set. The evidence confirms that nuclear actors are more likely to prevail when facing a nonnuclear state. The expected duration of crisis in such asymmetric directed dyads is substantially smaller than the duration of crisis for actors in nonnuclear dyads. Nuclear actors in asymmetric dyads are also more likely to prevail than states in symmetric nuclear dyads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do nuclear weapons reduce the probability of war? This article quantitatively evaluates the nuclear peace hypothesis. The results indicate that the impact of nuclear weapons is more complicated than is conventionally appreciated. Both proliferation optimists and pessimists find confirmation of some of their key claims. When a nuclear asymmetry exists between two states, there is a greater chance of militarized disputes and war. In contrast, when there is symmetry and both states possess nuclear weapons, then the odds of war precipitously drop. When combined, these findings provide support for the existence of the stability-instability paradox. evidence suggests that while nuclear weapons promote strategic stability, they simultaneously allow for more risk-taking in lower intensity disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates whether the length of time states have nuclear weapons influences their behavior and the behavior of opponents in militarized disputes. Using multiple statistical models and illustrative cases, the article shows that, while acquiring nuclear weapons makes states significantly more likely to reciprocate militarized challenges and have their challenges reciprocated, over time, the effect reverses. In contrast to a static understanding of nuclear weapons, this variation in outcomes over time highlights the difficulties presented by nuclear proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrasting claims about the consequences of nuclear weapons rely on different interpretations about how leaders respond to risk, uncertainty, and the balance of power. Nuclear optimists use deterrence theory to argue that proliferation can promote stability and inhibit the use of force. Pessimists argue that proliferation precipitates nuclear hubris, accident, or anger that heightens the risk of war. It is also possible that nuclear weapons have no net effect on dispute propensity. Since states fashion their own bargains, nuclear status is bound to influence the distribution of influence. Proliferation also reflects existing tensions, biasing upward the apparent impact of nuclear weapons on conventional conflict. Instrumenting for the decision to proliferate, the authors find that nuclear weapons increase diplomatic status without much affecting whether states fight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During his expedition to the Holy Land in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte needed to transport his heavy siege artillery for the siege of Acre. Over 200 years later, what happened to the guns remains an enigma. The heavy cannon (24-pounders) were transported from Egypt by sea. One shipment was captured by a British squadron commanded by Sidney Smith, and used in Acre's defence against the French army. The other cannon were safely disembarked, and were used by the French to bombard the town. After lifting the siege, the French army retreated southwards, abandoning weapons at Tantura. This article deals with the transportation of the heavy artillery to Acre, and its subsequent fate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the U.S. has opposed calls to ban the use of cluster munitions, weapons incorporating separate explosive submunitions or bomblets. The U.S. government believes that these weapons are legal, serve legitimate and important military requirements, and cause only a small proportion of postconflict civilian casualties resulting from unexploded ordnance. The U.S. has also called for international measures to increase the reliability of cluster munitions in order to lessen the likelihood of postconflict casualties caused by unexploded submunitions.

The article reports on Lake Ontario Ordnance Works with emphasis on its history as well as on the facility's implications to its immediate environment. The author argues that the facility has secluded form the public by reason of its crucial role to national security. The Lake Ontario Ordnance Works offers significant information on the political as well as on the socio-political cost of the Cold War and the second world war. Moreover, the facility also offers information on the ways and means employed by the United States government on nuclear waste management.

This paper will summarize the successful application of muzzle-end vibration absorbers to reduce cannon vibration. This technology constitutes a weapons stabilization approach that focuses on passive mechanical structural modification of the cannon, rather than relying upon an external control law to actively cancel vibrations. Challenges encountered during field testing, non-ideal behavior, and performance evaluation using digital signal processing will be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several antiquities held at the Danish Royal Museum of Arms and Armor in Copenhagen, Denmark. The author talks about the history of the museum and states that the oldest collection contains the armories of Danish kings dating back to the seventeenth century. The author details the armory building which houses 400 cannons which reflect the development of artillery from the end of the middle ages up to contemporary times. Several photographs of cannons and armor are provided. The article also details guns on display at the museum.

The article presents a discussion about the backward humanitarian step regarding India's detonation of a nuclear device. It states several significant aspects that makes the action of India a backward step for mankind. It explains that the action marks a further proliferation of nuclear weapons, breaking the system of restraints which had been permitted by an increasing number of countries since 1968. The action demonstrates the increasing ease and investments with which nuclear weapons can be produced and therefore gives an example to other countries.