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This study aims to examine the threats posed by cybercrimes toward the quest for achieving a reliable digital economy and to identify practical strategies for countering the crime.

A qualitative phenomenological paradigm was used as the methodology. Both primary and secondary sources were consulted for data collection. A thematic analytical interpretation was used for data analysis.

This study discovered that Nigeria is a leverage environment for using digital economy as a means of diversifying the economy owing to population bulge, and an increase patronage of internet and digital space but the threats of cyberfraudsters is ostracising a substantial number from using it which is decreasing the performance of the digital economy.

The research is limited by the scarcity of resources to widen the horizon of the study particularly the fieldwork and the rampant incidences of cybercrime in Nigeria which poses a difficult task for studying the phenomenon. In addition, this study is constrained by the confidentiality in releasing data owing to the sensitivity of the subject of study and its relationship to national security.

This study presents some suggestions that are plausible in countering the crimes and enhancing the digital economy in Nigeria through effective surveillance, massive information and communication technology (ICT) awareness creation for users and severe penitent sanctions for cybercriminals will help in securing digital spaces.

This study has social implications including the suggestion for simplifying digital transactions that will save time, increases economic activities and passive multiple stream income for Nigerians and ease of doing business with less risk of robbery and other cumbersome tasks.

This study has originality value because after the survey of the existing literature, a field work is conducted to have the views of experts on the subject of study which adds value to the subject and originality of the findings.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed insight into the global military robot industry with an emphasis on products and their applications.

Following an introduction which includes a brief historical account, this provides an industry overview, including various market dimensions and a discussion of the geopolitical and technological factors driving market development. The three following sections provide details of land, airborne and marine robots, their capabilities and deployments in recent conflicts. Finally, brief conclusions are drawn.

Military robots which operate on land, in the air and at sea constitute a multi-billion dollar industry which is growing rapidly. It is being driven by geopolitical tensions, notably the military-technology arms race between China and the USA and the conflict in Ukraine, together with technological progress, particularly in AI. Many robots possess multi-functional capabilities, and the leading application is presently intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. An increasing number of heavily armed robots are being developed, and AI has the potential to impart these with the capacity to deliver lethal force without human intervention. Although heavily criticised in some quarters, this capability has probably already been deployed on the battlefield. With ever-growing military budgets, escalating political tensions and technological innovations, robots will play an increasingly significant role in future conflicts.

This provides a detail account of military robots and their role in modern warfare.

In this chapter, we plan to describe the effects of war on tourism. Battlefield tourism was discussed within the effects of War on tourism. It is aimed to analyse the wars in world history and the consequences of these wars. War is a modern security problem with long-term severe consequences engraved on society. Wars, on any ground, always impact people's memories and activities (Smith, 1998). Wars leave their mark on society and are among the never forgotten events in history (Aliağaoğlu, 2008). Some of these events end with victory, while others end sadly. Wars affect tourism both positively and negatively. This chapter is essential to identify the contribution of tourism in battlefields, a different type of tourism, to the countries. In the context of battlefield tourism, this chapter will present a framework. It attempts to explain battlefield tourism through case studies. Document review and case study methods will be used. It is assumed that this chapter will bring the battlefields to tourism.

Conventional wisdom tells us that mediation without ripeness is a fool’s errand (Zartman and Touval, 1985). What, then, is Türkiye’s motivation for mediating the war in Ukraine in lieu of ripeness – and what can its behavior as a mediator tell us about that motivation? In pursuit of this question, this paper inductively analyzes Turkish mediation in the Ukraine war to unpack the relationship between a contextual (ripeness) and actor-level (motivation) variable. Of particular interest is the decision-making and behavior of third parties (like Türkiye in Ukraine) who elect to mediate highly complex conflicts in which ripeness is indiscernible. The purpose of this research is not to propose or test a causal relationship between obscured ripeness and mediation, but rather to examine mediation behavior in situations where ripeness is obscured.

The impact of weaponized information on ripeness and third-party mediation is evaluated through an original, systematic and inductive case study analysis of Turkish mediation in the Russia–Ukraine war. As an intense theater of operations for information warfare for well over a decade, the war in Ukraine serves as an especially apt choice for an analysis of “obscured ripeness.” Likewise, Türkiye’s anomalous position as the only substantive source of mediation in the conflict lends significance to an empirical examination of its motivation and behavior as a mediator.

This research reveals that the pervasive use of weaponized information in the Russia–Ukraine war has distorted and disordered the information environment, thereby obscuring the ability of third parties to determine if the conflict is or could be ripe for mediation. However, the condition of obscured ripeness that prevails in the conflict has not proven a deterrent for mediation by Türkiye, which, as the only mediator in the conflict, has used a transactional approach to mediation motivated by self-regarding interests and animated by a manipulative mediation strategy. In sum, this inductive analysis of Turkish mediation in Ukraine reveals that the use of weaponized information in a conflict indirectly selects on transactional mediation (and mediators). The significance of this finding is magnified by the widespread use of weaponized information in contemporary conflicts as well as the declining frequency of third-party mediation.

There have been few, if any, systematic assessments in Turkish mediation of the Russia–Ukraine war, and none specifically concerned with the effects of weaponized information. Additionally, the paper proposes a typology of mediator motivation that is used to structure that assessment, while also introducing a new concept (“obscured ripeness”) and linking that concept both to the existing literature on ripeness and to the use of weaponized information in contemporary armed conflicts. As such, this manuscript represents an important contribution both to the empirical and theoretical landscape with respect to the study of mediation and international conflict management.

To elaborate the nature of fact-checking in the domain of political information by examining how fact-checkers assess the validity of claims concerning the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and how they support their assessments by drawing on evidence acquired from diverse sources of information.

Descriptive quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 128 reports written by the fact-checkers of Snopes – an established fact-checking organisation – during the period of 24 February 2022 – 28 June, 2023. For the analysis, nine evaluation grounds were identified, most of them inductively from the empirical material. It was examined how the fact-checkers employed such grounds while assessing the validity of claims and how the assessments were bolstered by evidence acquired from information sources such as newspapers.

Of the 128 reports, the share of assessments indicative of the invalidity of the claims was 54.7%, while the share of positive ratings was 26.7%. The share of mixed assessments was 15.6%. In the fact-checking, two evaluation grounds, that is, the correctness of information and verifiability of an event presented in a claim formed the basis for the assessment. Depending on the topic of the claim, grounds such as temporal and spatial compatibility, as well as comparison by similarity and difference occupied a central role. Most popular sources of information offering evidence for the assessments include statements of government representatives, videos and photographs shared in social media, newspapers and television programmes.

As the study concentrated on fact-checking dealing with political information about a specific issue, the findings cannot be extended to concern the fact-checking practices in other contexts.

The study is among the first to characterise how fact-checkers employ evaluation grounds of diverse kind while assessing the validity of political information.

This study employs Stein Rokkan's methodological approach to analyse state formation in the Greater Middle East. It develops a conceptual framework distinguishing colonial, populist and democratic pacts, suitable for analysis of state formation and nation-building through to the present period. The framework relies on historical institutionalism. The methodology, however, is Rokkan's. The initial conceptual analysis also specifies differences between European and the Middle Eastern state formation processes. It is followed by a brief and selective discussion of historical preconditions. Next, the method of plotting singular cases into conceptual-typological maps is applied to 20 cases in the Greater Middle East (including Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey). For reasons of space, the empirical analysis is limited to the colonial period (1870s to the end of World War 1). Three typologies are combined into one conceptual-typological map of this period. The vertical left-hand axis provides a composite typology that clarifies cultural-territorial preconditions. The horizontal axis specifies transformations of the region's agrarian class structures since the mid-19th century reforms. The right-hand vertical axis provides a four-layered typology of processes of external intervention. A final section presents selected comparative case reconstructions. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such a Rokkan-style conceptual-typological map has been constructed for a non-European region.

The years following the 9/11/2001 terrorists attacks saw a marked increase in community and hospital emergency preparedness, from communications across community networks, development of policies and procedures, to attainment and training in the use of biological warfare resources. Regular drills ensured emergency and health care personnel were trained and prepared to address the next large-scale crisis, especially from terrorist and bioterrorist attacks. This chapter looks at some of the more familiar global health issues over the past two decades and the lessons learned from hospital responses to inform hospital management in preparation for future incidents.

This study is a narrative review of the literature related to lessons learned from four major events in the time period from 2002 to 2023 – SARS, MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19.

The initial search yielded 25,913 articles; 57 articles were selected for inclusion in the study.

Comparison of key issues and lessons learned among the four major events described in this article – SARS, MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19 – highlight that several lessons are “relearned” with each event. Other key issues, such as supply shortages, staffing availability, and hospital capacity to simultaneously provide care to noninfectious patients came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic. A primary, ongoing concern for hospitals is how to maintain their preparedness given competing priorities, resources, and staff time. This concern remains post-COVID-19.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate not only changes in eating behavior and food security parameters of the civilian population experiencing war but also the likelihood of developing a number of eating disorders against this background.

This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in March–April 2022 using the Google Forms tool among adult residents of Ukraine. The questions included four categories: general demographic data and body mass index (BMI); the question of the most frequently consumed food groups since the beginning of the invasion; SCOFF questionnaire; and questions to assess the state of food security.

A change in eating behavior was reported by 72.3% of respondents. SCOFF screening showed two or more positive responses for 42.7% of respondents. For respondents who were not in active hostilities areas, only 25.0% reported positive results. The average pre-war BMI was within the normal range, which suggests that the majority of respondents did not have problems with food security. The study shows that 74.9% of respondents believe they have an unbalanced diet. About 40% of respondents were cutting back on meals or skipping meals, and 50% reported running out of food and not being able to restock. These facts indicate that most respondents experienced food insecurity after the invasion.

The resulting quantitative sample structure of respondents was not optimal for such studies. But taking into account the rather difficult state of the country and the conditions of the population in it, the expansion of the sample in combat areas was quite seriously limited. Therefore, the use of a limited sample should probably be considered a reasonable and practical choice for conducting research.

The results indicate deep problems with food security, a sharp change in eating behavior under the pressure of circumstances and, as a consequence, the appearance of a high probability of the development of eating disorders in the future.

In recent years, increased use of all-aspect infrared (IR)-guided missiles based on the long-wave infrared (LWIR; 8–12 µm) band has lowered the probability of aircraft survival in warfare. The lock-on of these highly sensitive missiles is difficult to break, especially from the front. Aerodynamically heated swept-back leading edges (SBLE), because of their high temperature and large area, serve as a prominent LWIR source for aircraft detection from the front. This study aims to report the influence of sweep-back angle (Λ, based on the Mach number [M_∞]) on aerodynamic heating and the LWIR signature of SBLE.

The temperature along SBLE is obtained numerically as radiation equilibrium temperature (T_w) by discretizing the SBLE length into “n” number of segments, and for each segment, emission based on T_w is evaluated. IR radiance due to reflected external sources (sky-shine and Earthshine) and radiance due to T_w are collectively used to determine the IR contrast between SBLE and its replaced background in the LWIR band (i_{cont-SBLE,LWIR}).

The results are obtained for low subsonic turboprop aircraft (Λ = 3°, M_∞ = 0.44); high subsonic strategic bombers (Λ = 35°, M_∞ = 0.8); fifth-generation stealth aircraft (Λ = 40°, M_∞ = 1.6); and aircraft with supercruise/supersonic capability (Λ = 50°, M_∞ = 2.5). The aircraft with supersonic capability (Λ = 50°, M_∞ = 2.5) reports the maximum LWIR signatures and hence the highest visibility from the front. The results obtained are compared with values at Λ = 0° for all cases, which shows that increasing Λ significantly reduces aerodynamic heating and LWIR signatures.

The novelty of this study comes from its report on the influence of Λ on the LWIR signatures of aircraft SBLE in the frontal aspect for the first time.

This paper aims to provide a case study of complex conflict management within the arms race on the Korean Peninsula. Exploring the complex nexus of nuclear weapons, asymmetry and a qualitative arms race, the study explains how the arms race between Seoul and Pyongyang has promoted stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Presenting the limits of arguments that the US security guarantee is the factor that saved the two Koreas from going to war again, this paper explores the utility of the inter-Korean arms race as a stabilizer that promotes indirect negotiations. While presenting Korean anomalies, this paper analyzes the three stages of the inter-Korean arms race – especially its nuclear weapons, its asymmetry and the nature of arms races – and provides extant explanations on the causes and consequences of the qualitative arms race. These key elements drive the states’ strategic motives.

Using the case of the inter-Korean qualitative arms race and US extended nuclear deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, the study shows the complexities of conflict management today. This paper identifies three contributing factors – US nuclear weapons, asymmetry and the qualitative characteristic of the arms race – to explain the enduring stability on the peninsula despite the arms race’s intensification. The paper finds that although US nuclear-extended deterrence plays a critical role, it does not capture the full context of the ongoing, dynamic inter-Korean arms race; a prolonged arms race between the two Koreas has become a new regularity; the qualitative characteristic of the inter-Korean arms race, which is driven by technological advancement, contributes to stability in the arms race; and as the constant mismatch in priority technologies becomes more severe, the changes to the existing asymmetry could increase instability.

This paper offers a diverse perspective to the literature on conflict management and captures the complexities of 21^st-century conflict management. Through a thorough examination of the inter-Korean arms race, it brings readers’ attention to the nested dynamics within the arms race and shows how an intensifying arms race can promote stability. Furthermore, the paper explains the implications for potential instability – fueled by the comprehensive mix of a dynamic qualitative arms race and the US extended nuclear deterrence – in the Indo-Pacific region.