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We examine the connectedness of aerospace and defense companies and their relation to measures of geopolitical risk. With hierarchical clustering, we find stable and localized company clusters. Increasing geopolitical risk leaves these clusters intact but strengthens inter-cluster connectedness. Focusing on intraday data, we find that for most companies, instantaneous news arrival in form of jumps impacts realized volatility significantly. Further, we show that different measures of geopolitical uncertainty (GPR and COVOL) have differing impact on short-term predictions of intraday volatility, underlying the importance to distinguish between different sources of uncertainty. We provide evidence that investors react instantaneously to increases in geopolitical risk with some persistence of these shocks. The COVOL index holds significant informational content for short- and medium-term predictions of realized volatility of global aerospace and defense companies. • Aerospace and defense companies form localized clusters. • Increasing geopolitical risk increases the intercluster connectedness. • Different measures of geopolitical risks (GPR and COVOL) affect realized volatility predictions. • Instantaneous news arrival in form of volatility jumps are causally related to changes in geopolitical risk. • We provide evidence that investors react instantaneously to increases in geopolitical risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States pays half-a-trillion dollars to defense contractors every year. Although the U.S. military could not operate without profitable contractors, excessively profitable contracts reduce manufacturing output and can imperil soldier safety. Stretching back to the founding, there is a long history of the executive branch compelling ex post modifications of military contracts to a lower price than the parties agreed to at signing. Sometimes authorized by Congress (but not always), this executive practice of "downward revisions" has fallen into disuse. Nevertheless, at least one statute might authorize this practice today: Public Law 85-804. Commonly understood to provide higher payments to defense contractors, this Note argues that Public Law 85-804 should be interpreted in light of its text and history to authorize downward revisions to excessively profitable defense contracts. Such an interpretation could save soldiers' lives and lower defense costs during today's challenging fiscal and geopolitical times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

the paper analyzed the challenges facing Lagos State Public Procurement Agency in the implementation of procurement law. The paper adopted both the primary and secondary sources of data; data were collected through administration of questionnaires on the identified respondents. The study population of workers in the selected ministries, agency, contractors, and civil society organization consisted of 1398. A proportionate random sampling technique was used in selecting a sample size of 210 respondents representing 15% of the study population. Secondary data were obtained from books, academic journal official documents of LSPPA, and internet. Data collected were analyzed with the use of percentage, frequency, and mean. The result of the study revealed that the challenges facing Lagos State Public Procurement Agency; namely: poor ethical standard (58.9%, x̅ =2.5), shortage of manpower (72.2%, x̅ =2.1), and delay in the adjudication of contract malpractices (65.8%, x̅=2.1) were largely insubstantial challenges facing LSPPA in the implementation of public procurement law of the state amongst the ten acknowledged challenges. On the other hand, the paper further shown the challenges that were largely substantial for the LSPPA in the implementation of public procurement law in the state; such as: interference from political office holders (67.4, x̅=2.9), poor ethical standard (63.9%, x̅=2.6), delay in the release of appropriated budget (57.4%, x̅=2.7), political will and commitment to prosecute offenders (54.5, x̅=2.7), sharp practices in the award of contract (65.8%, x̅=2.8), politicized civil society organization (78.2%, x̅ =3.0), and submission of procurement plan (60.9%, x̅=2.8) substantially hampers LSPPA in the quest to achieve efficiency, probity, openness, value for money, accountability, and fair pricing amongst others. The study therefore, concludes that the challenges facing LSPPA, Lagos State Public Procurement Agency in the implementation of public procurement law in the state is largely substantial, and decelerates the policy objective targets of procurement law of the State. It was further evident from seven claims confirmation as against three claims that negated it respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimated value of procurement is an important initial step in a public procurement procedure, a step which ensures that the contracting authority will be able to allocate the funds necessary to conclude the public procurement contract. Recently, it has become more and more difficult to correctly estimate the value of works procurement. The COVID-19 pandemic, Russian aggression in the Ukraine and the subsequent inflation have substantially raised the prices of construction materials and labour. This has cumulatively and significantly increased the prices of construction and the value of construction public procurement procedures. In this paper, we aim to establish how significant this increase has actually been, and what the main causes and contributing factors were. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simon Frankel Pratt's book, "Normative transformation and the war on terrorism: the evolution of targeted killing, torture, and private military contracting," explores the evolution of the United States' approach to targeted killings, torture, and the use of mercenaries since 2001. Pratt argues that to understand normative change, we need to move beyond the language of norms and focus on practices. He introduces the concept of normative configurations, which are arrangements of ongoing practices that establish regulation, value-orientation, and avenues of contestation. Pratt proposes a three-stage analytical approach to study normative transformation: de-reification, attribution of agency, and tracing transactions. He uses this approach to explore changes in US practices regarding targeted killings, torture, and the use of mercenaries. Pratt's book offers a process-based and relational account of normative change and is a valuable resource for scholars and students interested in normativity. [Extracted from the article]

This article provides a review of recent Internet auction results for diving equipment. The author notes that while efforts are made to accurately describe the items, vendors' opinions on condition can vary. The article highlights several items that were sold, including a rare U.S. Divers UDS-1 diving system from 1974, a Voit VR2 Green Label Double-Hose Regulator from the 1950s, a Meistrell Commemorative Mug honoring diving legends Bill and Bob Meistrell, a Swimaster Spearfisherman Mask from the 1950s, a Scubapro A.I.R. II regulator from 1979, a Sea-Dive Mask from the 1940s, and a DESCO Saf-T-Eye Submersible Pressure Gauge from the 1960s. The article provides historical context for each item and notes the selling prices. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: defence; Greece; military contracts EN defence Greece military contracts 154 157 4 07/19/23 20230401 NES 230401 I. Introduction The defence of each EU Member State is a sensitive and strongly national matter. Therefore, especially after the military invasion against Ukraine, Greece realizes that times require for strong defensive capacity[1] I . i From late 1990s crisis with Turkey until the late 2000s outbreak of financial crisis, Greece has concluded a series of military procurement contracts of approximately €35 billion. The aforementioned derogations demonstrate that EU laws consciously omitted to regulate in detail certain aspects of defence procurement; particular types of contracts which are concluded under exceptional circumstances reveal gaps in national legislation. [Extracted from the article]

Drones are playing an important role in the war in Ukraine. Without a large conventional air force, the Ukrainian military is employing a number of high- and low-end imported and domestically produced drones to devastating effect against Russian forces. This article examines how Ukrainian and Russian forces are employing these drones and their effects on the battlefield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the Trump era revitalized questions of racial capitalism and the place of the US in the world in spectacular fashion, this essay centers the Iraq War as a key site of twenty-first century US imperialism. Specifically, it considers the large-scale privatization of the US war apparatus, and the ways in which the proliferation of corporate actors after 9/11 both enabled and transformed the imperial power of the state through military contracting. Not only did defense contractors underwrite traditional military operations, they worked to shift power from civil federal institutions to corporations. This allowed contractors to dilute the US government's onus of responsibility and operate with impunity by evading the barest forms of democratic accountability. The enduring legacies of these processes into the present highlight the critical role of corporate power in the structure and maintenance of contemporary US empire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Procurement of aid material such as vaccines by a humanitarian agency (HA) is often fraught with uncertainties. For example, an epidemic outbreak can increase the demand for materials (such as vaccines) in a very short period. Most of the HAs depend on external donations (funding) to procure necessary vaccines to meet this demand. Hence, it is financially infeasible and operationally inefficient for the HA to procure large quantities of aid material in anticipation of a demand spike during an epidemic outbreak. Thus, the procurement processes for aid materials such as vaccines need to be flexible enough to meet these demand fluctuations. HAs can achieve this flexibility by employing a procurement mechanism portfolio that includes upfront buying, capacity reservation, spot market purchase, etc. However, the challenge lies in identifying the optimal combination of multiple procurement mechanisms and how they can be utilized to coordinate the humanitarian supply chain. In this study, we explore the feasibility of quantity flexibility contracts along with discount incentives combined with spot market procurement in humanitarian supply chains for aid material procurement. We also derive the conditions under which the contract can achieve systemic coordination between the supplier and HA. Furthermore, we also illustrate that under optimal conditions, the procurement of aid material using multiple procurement mechanisms by HA can also reduce the humanitarian supply chain's total cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. At the beginning of the War in Eastern Ukraine, military personnel of the Armed Forces, National Guard of Ukraine (NGU), and soldiers of volunteer battalions, who had no combat experience for the first time faced the death of their comrades. This study aims to determine the effects of posttraumatic stress and combat losses on the mental health of combatants and to develop the typology of their resilience to extreme events. Sample and settings. N = 117 NGU male officers (76% of contract military members and 24% of officers) participated in the study. These combatants were withdrawn from the combat zone in June 2014 due to combat losses and the death of the unit commander. Hypothesis. After participating in hostilities, military personnel developed different types of personality resilience to the effects of traumatic stress. Statistical analyses. The participants' typification of resilience and adaptation to extreme events was determined by hierarchical cluster analysis. The differences between groups in mean values were determined using Student's t-test. Results. Four types of personality resilience to combat stressors were identified: "Those who predicted danger" (68.38%), "Those who were open to danger" (21.37%), "Those who identified themself with the role of the victim" (6.83%), and "Those who hid their fear" (3.42%). The results showed that self-identification of a personality with symptoms of acute stress disorder affects the features of the implementation of the anxiety buffer role. Limitations. The conclusions on the anxiety buffer role for the formation of PTSD require clarification and further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of contracts outsourcing military functions to private companies raises serious oversight concerns vis-à-vis regulation and accountability. As the industry is emerging, regulation of these outsourced function is considered weak. While critics predict an unchecked industry, supporters have defended the lack of an adequate accountability mechanism by touting self-regulation as a potential solution. Following this discussion, we examine whether the frequency of contractor violations and legal repercussions within the overall contracting industry differed between those in the burgeoning security-contracting community and those in the traditional contracting community. We utilize a preexisting dataset of American contractors' misconduct to compare military contacting to non-military contracting and military contractors to non-military contractors. Our results indicate that contracting military functions is associated with higher levels of violations and lower levels of legal repercussions, while military contractor companies themselves are not associated with higher levels of violations or legal repercussion. These findings support calls for improved oversight of conflict area's contracting in order to prevent contractors' misconduct with impunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1918 Central and Eastern Europe were on the brink of enormous change. The collapse of the German and Austro-Hungarian empires had led to the growth of national self-awareness in many peoples, and the Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, and peoples of the Baltic and Balkan regions declared their nation-statehood. Ukrainians also exercised their right to self-determination, establishing the Western Ukrainian National Republic (Ukr. acronym: ZUNR) on their ethnic territory. The regular military force of the new republic was the Galician Army, with the word "Ukrainian" subsequently added to it (Ukr. acronym: UHA). It immediately commenced armed operations against Polish formations that also aimed to seize power in this territory. However, when establishing their army the Ukrainians encountered serious personnel issues, especially a severe shortage of Ukrainian officers. One means of resolving this problem was to contract military personnel of other nationalities who were citizens of the ZUNR as well as other countries. In some cases actual mercenaries were hired. This article describes where, how, and under what conditions this took place in the UHA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dumitru Bagdasar, who is indisputably considered as the founder of neurosurgery on the Romanian territory during the interwar period, was born in Roșiești, the former Fălciu County, in 1893. In 1913, after having completed his primary and secondary education, he enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine of Bucharest and, in the summer of 1916, at the end of his third university year, he transferred to the Medical Military Institute. From 1916 to 1918, D. Bagdasar dealt with the whole array of illnesses arising from the world conflict, including firearm-related injuries to the nervous system. After the war, he was transferred to the Neurology Clinic of the Colentina Hospital where, under the supervision of Professor Gheorghe Marinescu, he elaborated and completed his doctoral dissertation entitled: Contribuțiuni la studiul Sindromului Parkinsonian-postencefalitic (Contributions to the Study of Postencephalitic Parkinsonism), which he defended in 1922. From 1922 to 1926, at the Military Hospital of Bucharest, he completed his neurology internship under the guidance of the eminent neurologist Dumitru Noica and his initiation to surgery under Professor Mihail Butoianu. In 1927, after giving up his military contract, he was transferred to the Jimbolia Hospital by the Ministry of Health to work as an attending neuropsychiatrist. At the end of the same year, with a recommendation from Professor Nicolae Paulescu, he earned a neurosurgery specialisation scholarship under Professor Harvey Cushing in Boston. There, under the guidance of Professor Cushing and Doctor Bailey, he wrote two papers: Le traitement Chirurgical des gommes cérébrales and Intracranial Chordoblastoma, which were published in prestigious medical journals. In 1929, he returned to the Jimbolia Hospital where, in 1930, he performed his first neurosurgical procedures. At the end of 1931, he transferred to the Cernăuți Hospital, again as a neuropsychiatrist, and in the following two years he performed a number of 149 operations on the central nervous system, which are described in the surgical reports written by Doctor Bagdasar himself. In 1934, he transferred to Bucharest, where he performed neurosurgical procedures in two hospitals (Emergency Hospital and Central Hospital) and, at the end of the same year, he was tenured as an attending neurosurgeon at the Central Hospital, following a contest organised by the Ministry of Health. From 1935, he worked primarily in the aforementioned hospital but he also performed operations in other hospitals (Emergency, Colțea, Military etc.). Alongside his surgical activity, he was also interested in the histopathology of the operated tumours, he wrote scientific papers based on his own case reports, participated in medical congresses (Bucharest, Bern, Chisinau etc.) and became interested in the social-political issues of the time..., joining the Communist Party in 1943. In 1940, just before the outburst of World War II, he wrote Acute craniocerebral trauma and published it in Probleme de Medicină de Războiu (War Medicine Issues). During the war, due to his over a decade long experience in neurosurgical procedures, he assisted the injured (both militaries and civilians), while also managing common neurosurgical cases in Romania and the adjacent countries and even in Palestine, as a member of the so-called "golden team" (C. Arseni, I. Ionescu, Irina Ogrezeanu-Ionescu). In 1945, he was appointed Minister of Health and at the end of the same year, he became the first professor of neurosurgery in Romania. Unfortunately, his life came to an abrupt end on 16 July 1946 because of a metastatic brain tumour probably caused by primary lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reexamines and develops the analytical metaphor of "Reserve Soldiers as Transmigrants" in three directions. First, we advance the notion of transmigration by linking it to the explicit and implicit "contracts" or agreements struck between the military and individuals and groups within and outside of it. Second, we show that the "management" model of reserve forces is not just an administrative matter but that "negotiating" with reservists involves wider issues that include managing identity, commitment, and the meaning attached to military service. Third, we examine the institutional and political meaning of the reserves at the macro sociological level. The juxtaposition and interplay of two models—transmigration and multiple contracts—allows us to introduce structural elements into the movement of soldiers between the military and civilian society, and add a dynamic dimension to the contents of the implicit contracts that organize reservists' relations with the state and military. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US State Department has issued twenty-six thousand special immigrant visas (SIV) to Afghan translators, guards, embassy staff, and their dependents since 2009. The case of Afghan SIV recipients is unique because of the overlapping ways that precarity has doubly characterized the Afghan experience in both Afghanistan and the US. Work for the defense contracting industry in Afghanistan was dangerous and temporary. Now refugees struggle for stability in the gig economy, many while driving for Uber and Lyft. This article explores how Afghans conceptualize this precarity through stories about their work in Afghanistan and the US. Occupational identity and work have been foundational to core theorizations of personal narrative. This article uses the stories of precarious workers to interrogate the centrality of work identity in folkloristic theories of personal narrative. Additionally, this article uses the experiences of Afghan refugees to suggest what a more critical engagement with precarity offers folklore studies of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The US Department of Defense (DoD) relies on contractors to execute its mission. Although the DoD aims to maintain functional group bonds among personnel to accomplish its objectives, the relationships between DoD personnel and contractors are not well understood. To examine the US military/ contractor bond, we conducted a small, non-generalizable pilot study based on semi-structured interviews. Participants described a range of barriers to establishing military/contractor bonds, including inter-organizational impediments, issues with professional boundaries, lack of common communication processes, and social comparison. Participants also identified various facilitators to military/contractor bonds, including shared goals and experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Department of Defense released the final version of its landmark cybersecurity certification program on January 31, 2020, titled the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification. The new program features a third-party audit requirement based on a multi-level certification framework that is intended to strengthen the cybersecurity hygiene of all defense contractors included in the Department of Defense's (DoD) supply chain. The program was quickly established and introduced in response to the growing concerns over threats of cyber-crime. There is a high cost of compliance with this new certification program and it will greatly impact the ability of many businesses to compete, especially small businesses. This Note explores the policy tensions between two of the DoD's goals: creating a stricter cybersecurity regime and preserving small businesses' ability to compete for defense contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Other Transactions for prototyping and production are not going anywhere and will continue to increase in the coming years. The acquisition arm of the Department of Defense (DoD) should prioritize ensuring Other Transactions are used efficiently and fairly, and that they do not compromise the goals of the U.S. procurement system. The 809 Panel proposed promising reforms for the DoD's statutory authority to engage in Other Transactions that comport with the values of government procurement, while still maintaining strategic effectiveness. But these reforms will be ineffective without improving the DoD's Other Transaction infrastructure. A necessary arrow in the quiver of acquisition reformers will be better, more reliable, data on the use of Other Transactions, and the DoD must take steps toward bolstering its information collection on Other Transactions. Finally, a proper understanding of protest jurisdiction is necessary to fully utilize Other Transactions and attract the best and brightest defense contractors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exemption I of public-public co-operation i which has been established in the Public Sector Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU[9] I i is also provided for under the Utilities Procurement Directive 2014/25/EU[10], however it covers only contracting authorities and is not extended to contracting entities[11] nor public undertakings[12]. Exploration for oil or natural gas has been excluded from the Utilities Procurement Directive 2014/25/EU as the relevant sector is deemed to be be subject to a competitive environment thus rendering the Utilities Procurement Directive 2014/25/EU inapplicable. 6 Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors [2004] OJ L 134/1 ("Utilities Procurement Directive 2004/17/EU"), art 6(2)(c). Essentially the same changes have been effected by the 2014 EU legislative framework for the Utilities Directive 2014/25/EU as for the Public Sector Directive 2014/24/EU. [Extracted from the article]

When the actions of private military contractors result in civilian casualties during war, who do citizens blame? This study argues blame attributions can be shaped by people's inferences about the motivation of actors operating on behalf of the government. Using national survey data, this study randomizes whether casualties are the result of state military forces or private military forces contracted by the government. The results show that inferences about the motivation of state military forces insulate both military personnel and public officials from blame, while inferences about the motivation of private contractors disperse blame onto contractor personnel and the government. The results provide new theoretical insight into how citizens evaluate government performance and the potential drawbacks of utilizing private contractors to achieve public policy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NEWS FUNDING The U.S. Air Force wants scientists at Howard University to figure out how its fighter pilots can team up with robotic co-pilots to defeat enemy combatants. Bindu Nair, head of DOD's basic research office, hopes the RITA will not only help Howard attain R1 status, but also expand the nation's pool of STEM talent. "We've been doing a lot with a small amount of resources", says Rawat, who now directs a $7.5 million Department of Defense (DOD) center of excellence on artificial intelligence and machine learning. [Extracted from the article]

This article addresses Erik Prince's plan to privatize the war in Afghanistan and argues that it should be rejected because it would involve contractors performing inherently governmental functions in violation of statute and executive policy. Part I introduces the argument against Prince's proposed privatization. Part II provides a background of the United States' contemporary use of private military contractors, the current war in Afghanistan, and Prince's plan to privatize that war. Part III describes the legal framework governing private security contractors ("PSCs") and discusses legal issues with Prince's plan, specifically that contractors would perform inherently governmental functions. Part IV takes issue with Prince's proposed viceroy and suggests potential legislation to prevent the contractual creation of such a role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition in Defense contracting is a vital component of the acquisition system. Competition encourages research, innovation, and the production of new products and services, while motivating a robust industrial base. Accordingly, legislation, DoD directives, and policy guidance have sought to encourage competition in DoD contracting and enhance methods of tracking competition progress. This article presents the results of a study against the background of previous U.S. Government Accountability Office competition examinations to identify trends in competition, particularly in terms of DoD agencies and purchase categories. Data retrieved from the Federal Procurement Database System-Next Generation, and a sample of Justification and Approvals, retrieved from beta.sam.gov, provide a basis to forecast trends and a foundation for recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where does the state come from? Two canonical answers have been interstate wars and contracts between rulers and the ruled in the early modern period. New scholarship has pushed back the historical origins of the European state to the Middle Ages, and focused on domestic institutions such as parliaments, universities, the law, inheritance rules, and cities. It has left open questions of the causes of territorial fragmentation, the structural similarities in state administrations, and the policy preoccupations of the state. One answer is a powerful but neglected force in state formation: the medieval Church, which served as a rival for sovereignty, and a template for institutional innovations in court administrations, the law, and the formation of human capital. Church influence further helps to explain why territorial fragmentation in the Middle Ages persisted, why royal courts adopted similar administrative solutions, and why secular states remain concerned with morality and social discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re‐examines the causes of the May 1917 engineering strike, the biggest strike in Britain during the First World War. Besides official files, it uses private papers and the records of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. The stoppage began in sympathy with sacked employees at Tweedale & Smalley in Rochdale, who were resisting the spread of 'dilution' (replacing skilled by unskilled workers) from military contracts to private and commercial work. A second major issue was the government's replacement of the 'trade card' scheme protecting skilled engineers from military service. These issues would have been easier to resolve had it not been for underlying war weariness and falling real earnings, as well as uncertainty over whether skilled men could regain their pre‐1914 employment privileges. The strike was unofficial, and would not have spread so far and fast without local leadership from shop stewards, though this later proved a source of weakness. None the less, although the strike initially seemed a failure, it frightened the government and elicited major concessions. In part this was because Prime Minister David Lloyd George accepted that he must combine repression with the alleviation of legitimate grievances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate local fiscal multipliers and spillovers for the USA using a rich dataset based on the US Department of Defense contracts and a variety of outcome variables relating to income and employment. We find strong positive spillovers across locations and industries. Both backward linkages and general equilibrium effects (e.g., income multipliers) contribute to the positive spillovers. Geographical spillovers appear to dissipate fairly quickly with distance. Our evidence points to the relevance of Keynesian-type models that feature excess capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased outsourcing of national security endeavors to private military companies (PMCs) raises questions concerning public evaluations of their performance and the extent to which government officials are held accountable. We use a survey experiment to test public blame attribution associated with a failed military operation that was conducted by either regular or private military personnel. Our findings suggest that there are multiple mediating pathways in the process of attributing blame in foreign policy. Furthermore, our findings suggest that contracting out military functions to a PMC can damage perceptions of performance, perhaps increasing blame attribution by the public. These impacts on the attribution of blame suggest that PMCs are viewed as inferior service providers by the mass public and politicians will be held accountable, directly or indirectly. Implications from our study add to the discussion on the outsourcing of military capacities which are rapidly expanding in the Western world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]