Mathematical Methods in Counterterrorism


Book Description

Terrorism is one of the serious threats to international peace and security that we face in this decade. No nation can consider itself immune from the dangers it poses, and no society can remain disengaged from the efforts to combat it. The termcounterterrorism refers to the techniques, strategies, and tactics used in the ?ght against terrorism. Counterterrorism efforts involve many segments of so- ety, especially governmental agencies including the police, military, and intelligence agencies (both domestic and international). The goal of counterterrorism efforts is to not only detect and prevent potential future acts but also to assist in the response to events that have already occurred. A terrorist cell usually forms very quietly and then grows in a pattern – sp- ning international borders, oceans, and hemispheres. Surprising to many, an eff- tive “weapon”, just as quiet – mathematics – can serve as a powerful tool to combat terrorism, providing the ability to connect the dots and reveal the organizational pattern of something so sinister. The events of 9/11 instantly changed perceptions of the wordsterrorist andn- work, especially in the United States. The international community was confronted with the need to tackle a threat which was not con?ned to a discreet physical - cation. This is a particular challenge to the standard instruments for projecting the legal authority of states and their power to uphold public safety. As demonstrated by the events of the 9/11 attack, we know that terrorist attacks can happen anywhere.




Toward a Mathematical Theory of Counterterrorism: the Proteus Monograph Series


Book Description

Professor Jonathan David Farley is in the department of mathematics at the California Institute of Technology. He has formerly been a Science Fellow at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Seed Magazine named him one of "15 people who have shaped the global conversation about science in 2005."




Assessing the Tradecraft of Intelligence Analysis


Book Description

This report assesses intelligence analysis across the main U.S. intelligence agencies and makes a number of recommendations, some of which parallel initiatives that have begun in the wake of the December 2004 legislation, for instance, create a Deputy Director of National Intelligence as a focal point for analysis, establish a National Intelligence University, build a Long Term Analysis Unit at the National Intelligence Council, and form an Open Source Center for making more creative use of open-source materials.




Theory and Applications of Models of Computation


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Theory and Applications of Models of Computation, TAMC 2012, held in Beijing, China, in May 2012. The conference was combined with the Turing Lectures 2012, dedicated to celebrating Alan Turing’s unique impact on mathematics, computing, computer science, informatics, morphogenesis, philosophy, and the wider scientific world. Eight Turing Lectures were given at the TAMC 2012. The 40 revised full papers presented together with invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 86 submissions. The papers address 4 special sessions at TAMC 2012 which were algorithms and information in networks, complexity and cryptography, models of computing and networking, programming and verification.




Psychology of Terrorism


Book Description

Publisher description




The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism


Book Description

The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism systematically integrates the substantial body of scholarship on terrorism and counterterrorism before and after 9/11. In doing so, it introduces scholars and practitioners to state of the art approaches, methods, and issues in studying and teaching these vital phenomena. This Handbook goes further than most existing collections by giving structure and direction to the fast-growing but somewhat disjointed field of terrorism studies. The volume locates terrorism within the wider spectrum of political violence instead of engaging in the widespread tendency towards treating terrorism as an exceptional act. Moreover, the volume makes a case for studying terrorism within its socio-historical context. Finally, the volume addresses the critique that the study of terrorism suffers from lack of theory by reviewing and extending the theoretical insights contributed by several fields - including political science, political economy, history, sociology, anthropology, criminology, law, geography, and psychology. In doing so, the volume showcases the analytical advancements and reflects on the challenges that remain since the emergence of the field in the early 1970s.




Advances in Network Analysis and its Applications


Book Description

As well as highlighting potentially useful applications for network analysis, this volume identifies new targets for mathematical research that promise to provide insights into network systems theory as well as facilitating the cross-fertilization of ideas between sectors. Focusing on financial, security and social aspects of networking, the volume adds to the growing body of evidence showing that network analysis has applications to transportation, communication, health, finance, and social policy more broadly. It provides powerful models for understanding the behavior of complex systems that, in turn, will impact numerous cutting-edge sectors in science and engineering, such as wireless communication, network security, distributed computing and social networking, financial analysis, and cyber warfare. The volume offers an insider’s view of cutting-edge research in network systems, including methodologies with immense potential for interdisciplinary application. The contributors have all presented material at a series of workshops organized on behalf of Canada’s MITACS initiative, which funds projects and study grants in ‘mathematics for information technology and complex systems’. These proceedings include papers from workshops on financial networks, network security and cryptography, and social networks. MITACS has shown that the partly ghettoized nature of network systems research has led to duplicated work in discrete fields, and thus this initiative has the potential to save time and accelerate the pace of research in a number of areas of network systems research.




Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups


Book Description

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Examines terrorists¿ involvement in a variety of crimes ranging from motor vehicle violations, immigration fraud, and mfg. illegal firearms to counterfeiting, armed bank robbery, and smuggling weapons of mass destruction. There are 3 parts: (1) Compares the criminality of internat. jihad groups with domestic right-wing groups. (2) Six case studies of crimes includes trial transcripts, official reports, previous scholarship, and interviews with law enforce. officials and former terrorists are used to explore skills that made crimes possible; or events and lack of skill that the prevented crimes. Includes brief bio. of the terrorists along with descriptions of their org., strategies, and plots. (3) Analysis of the themes in closing arguments of the transcripts in Part 2. Illus.




The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research


Book Description

This major new Handbook synthesises more than two decades of scholarly research, and provides a comprehensive overview of the field of terrorism studies. The content of the Handbook is based on the responses to a questionnaire by nearly 100 experts from more than 20 countries as well as the specific expertise and experience of the volume editor and the various contributors. Together, they guide the reader through the voluminous literature on terrorism, and propose a new consensus definition of terrorism, based on an extensive review of existing conceptualisations. The work also features a large collection of typologies and surveys a wide range of theories of terrorism. Additional chapters survey terrorist databases and provide a guide to available resources on terrorism in libraries and on the Internet. It also includes the most comprehensive World Directory of Extremist, Terrorist and other Organizations associated with Guerrilla Warfare, Political Violence, Protest and Organized- and Cyber-Crime. The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research will be an essential work of reference for students and researchers of terrorism and political violence, security studies, criminology, political science and international relations, and of great interest to policymakers and professionals in the field of counter-terrorism.




Statistical Methods in Counterterrorism


Book Description

With the realization that many clues and hints preceded the September 11 terrorist attacks, statisticians became an important part of the global war on terror. This book surveys emerging research at the intersection of national security and statistical sciences. In it, a diverse group of talented researchers address such topics as Syndromic Surveillance; Modeling and Simulation; Biometric Authentication; and Game Theory. The book includes general reviews of quantitative approaches to counterterrorism, for decision makers with policy backgrounds, as well as technical treatments of statistical issues that will appeal to quantitative researchers.