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This study of 36 adults without brain damage examined the degree that reading comprehension therapy materials designed for adults with aphasia are capable of measuring reading comprehension. Subjects were able to answer correctly at least half of the questions from 40 paragraphs at greater than chance levels without reading the related paragraph. (Author/CR)

Scholars of international relations frequently explore how states normalize the use of military force through processes of militarization, yet few have analyzed how new information and communication technologies impact on these processes. The essays in this forum address this gap, and consider the political significance of new technologies, new actors, and new practices that shape "Militarization 2.0" and normalize political violence in the digital age. The authors in this forum rely, to varying degrees, on common militarized tropes and dichotomies (such as authenticity, belonging, and (de)humanizing framings) that are key to militarization, including those devices that rest on gender, race/ethnicity, and heteronormativity. Moving beyond a military-centered approach to militarization, the authors' questions cover ministries of foreign affairs; the embodied performances of celebrity leaders and insurgency groups; arms producers, the military video game industry, and private military and security companies; and violence entrepreneurs. The forum closes with reflections from Cynthia Enloe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each year the prevalence of digitized information becomes more entrenched, not least with the amount of activity on social media. Yet, new media studies pose a number of challenges to international relations scholarship, which are only beginning to be addressed. With some exceptions IR scholars who conduct this research tend to rely on traditional qualitative methods and have been hesitant to embrace interdisciplinary collaboration—especially with those disciplines outside of the social sciences—as well as methodological pluralism across interpretive and quantitative approaches within the social sciences. This tendency shows a general lack of understanding of what new/social media might mean, not only as a source of and tool for generating information but also as a structural factor in how we conduct IR research and practice international relations. In this way, social media can provoke IR scholars to ask questions about their own discipline. This article aims to address these challenges and to provide suggestions on how to bring structural aspects of new media into IR research. In particular, it incorporates ideas centered on the shifting media ecology as fundamental to examining these structural challenges in terms of practicing international relations and in the visual turn in IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the ranking of arms-producing and military services companies in 2010. It cites an increase in sales of arms and military services by top companies. United Shipbuilding Corporation is a Russian firm that was included in the ranking for 2010. The regional and national shares of arms sales for the top companies in 2009 and 2010 are presented. The LOGCAP IV contracts have led to an increase in revenues of Fluor and ITT Corporation.

The article focuses on the arms-production and military services industry in India. A national security review concluded that the country needed to rebuild its arms industry to facilitate arms acquisition and domestic arms production. Bharat Electronics Limited, HAL and Ordnance Factories are the Indian companies included in the top arms-producing firms for 2010. The objectives of the government's agenda for developing a domestic arms industry include achieving a high level of self-reliance.

The article discusses the growth of the military services industry in the U.S. The shift into military services is expected to continue to maintain sales and to take advantage of government cost-savings efforts. The top military services companies include L-3 Communications, Computer Sciences Corp. and Babcock International Group. Particular focus is given to the growth in aftermarket sales of maintenance and upgrading of in-service weapon systems.

The article discusses the impact of the proposed cuts in public expenditure on the arms-producing and military services industry in 2011. The Ground Combat Vehicle and tactical wheeled vehicle are some of the programmes for which spending is maintained by the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012. Options available for arms-producing companies to respond to budgetary pressures include consolidation of military businesses and diversification into commercial activities.

Chapter 5 of the book "SIPRI Yearbook 2011: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security" is presented. It explores the reasons why countries pursue indigenous arms industries despite the expense and difficulty in developing and maintaining a domestic arms industry. It discusses major developments in the arms industry in 2009 and 2010 and the motivations for and barriers to the development of indigenous arms industries. Case studies of the arms industries are presented.

Various information on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute top 100 largest arms-producing companies in the world, including trends revealed by the top 100 for 2009, arms sales in 2008 and 2009 of each company, and total sales, profit and employment in 2009, that relate to a chapter of the book "SIPRI Yearbook 2011: Armaments, Disarmamen and International Security" are presented.

The relation between ability to identify the pronunciation of irregularly spelled words (from the AMNART) and performance on six verbal subtests of the WAIS-R was investigated in 34 non-brain-damaged adults. A correlation of r = -.74 emerged between Verbal IQ and pronunciation identification errors. However, results of a multiple regression analysis showed that task order (WAIS-R, pronunciation task) contributed significantly to the variability in pronunciation identification scores beyond what was already accounted for by education. When the relation between task order and Verbal IQ and task order and pronunciation identification errors was removed, the resulting partial correlation was r = -.68 between Verbal IQ and pronunciation identification errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of public spending crisis on the arms production and military services industry in the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) maintains many of the country's weapons programmes. The military services sectors, such as systems support, logistics and training, have shown resistance to the effect of the drawdown from Iraq. It mentions the attempts by Global North countries to develop a self-sustaining national arms industry.