This thesis investigates how A-level students (aged 17-26) in and around Kampala, Uganda, manage uncertainties in their present lives and futures. There are large discrepancies between international and national discourses on education, the students’ ambitious hopes and dreams, and the realities they witness. The research’s main source of data are 63 semi-structured interviews with high school students of various socio-economic backgrounds in four different schools. The thesis provides an analysis of the tactical agency the students display while negotiating with discourses, networks and steep competition. The main argument of the thesis is that uncertainty can be a productive force, and tactical agency necessary to navigate an African urban space at present.

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Peruvian civilian and military authorities were trapped on a dead-end road in the counterinsurgency struggle against the terrorist movement Shining Path until the capture of the organization's top leader on September 12, 1992. The episode led to the eventual demise of the terrorist organization. This thesis argues that the successful operation was a consequence of the particular organization and working processes of the intelligence unit assigned to this sensitive case, and describes the extent to which the capture contributed to the defeat of the insurgency. Given the characteristics of the Shining Path terrorist organization, it was necessary to design a Special Intelligence Group with specific characteristics that made the group strong enough to overcome the obstacles of the reality it faced in Peru. Several other units with the same mission were unsuccessful in the twelve years of open struggle against the Shining Path. During its 22 years of activity, the Shining Path had built a solidly impenetrable organization, which allowed the police and military to hit the organizations' military apparatus, but not the political one. In Maoist organizations like the Shining Path, the political apparatus controls the organization. A study of the tactics, techniques and procedures developed by the Special Intelligence Group and the exchange between the intelligence and the operations components, as well as the decision making process within the group itself, demonstrates the organizational necessity of secrecy, isolation, motivation and delegation of authority for this type of mission.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / In this thesis, we present a Markov-based probability model for a human operated system of aerial hunter-killers attacking time-sensitive targets. We explore the effect of two resources -- time and supply of munitions -- and some cognitive aspects of the human operator on the performance of the system in different operational scenarios. We model the combat mission as a sequence of engagements; each of which includes a classification process, followed by a firing decision, and a shooting process. The model of the classification process addresses possible effects of stress on the operator's behavior and performance. Two shooting tactics are considered. The random shooting tactic, which is memory-less and with no fire control, BDA capability or mission support systems, sets a benchmark for more effective shoot-look-shoot tactic, where resources are utilized more efficiently. The model represents various tactical parameters regarding rules of engagement and various mixes of resources. Applying the model on some real-world scenarios, we identify mixes of resources and tactical engagement rules that enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the combat mission. / Outstanding Thesis