Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / As an example of ships used as weapons (SAW), an oil tanker is hijacked and commandeered by terrorists to collide with a high-value maritime or shore target. If sunk or destroyed in a shipping lane as a result of a counter measure, the SAW’s collateral damage would severely disrupt the traffic flow in the shipping lane. To prevent such a disruptive catastrophe, non-destructive measures must be implemented to cause the SAW to deviate from its destructive path toward the target. One such a measure involves a strategic application of forces induced by water plume barriers (WPB) to the SAW. The goal of this thesis is to examine the feasibility of realizing such a measure. Toward this goal, a mission analysis, using the Singapore Strait as setting and petrochemical plants on Jurong Island as targets of a SAW attack, establishes the requirement on the deviation of the SAW path from its destructive course. The nominal WPB-induced force that satisfies the deviation requirement is estimated using ship hydrostatics. Solving the equations of motion governing the response of the SAW to a strategic application of a WPB-induced force yields the SAW’s motion, which is used to define a range of the WPB-induced forces and their application locations and durations that satisfy the SAW’s path deviation requirement. Parametric studies were conducted for a range of physically realizable WPB-induced forces and application times. The results demonstrate that, in principle, the objectives of this work are achievable. These results will be validated upon the completion of an on-going research by National University of Singapore. The range of the WPB-generated forces and their application durations serve as requirements to the generation of water plume barriers.

The use of biological agents as potential weapons has been a concern of security agencies for many years. Security agencies require alternative field protocols for handling forensic samples that could be contaminated with biological weapons. In this study, manual and automated DNA extractions were compared for the ability to remove biological agents and for their effectiveness and consistency when samples were contaminated with bacteria, spores or toxins. Purified DNA was evaluated for the absence of the agents, and for the effects of the process on the isolated human DNA. Results demonstrated that incubation of samples in a cell lysis solution eliminated bacteria and toxins, but an additional 0.22 µm filtration step was necessary to successfully remove bacterial spores. Blood and buccal swab samples exposed to some bacteria showed DNA loss and/or degradation. The automated extraction procedure would be preferable over the manual protocol to isolate human DNA contaminated with biological weapons.

The threat of biological weapons has never attracted as much public attention as in the past five years. Current concerns largely relate to the threat of weapons acquisition and use by rogue states or by terrorists. But the threat has deeper roots--it has been evident for fifty years that biological agents could be used to cause mass casualties and large-scale economic damage. Yet there has been little historical analysis of such weapons over the past half-century. "Deadly Cultures" sets out to fill this gap by analyzing the historical developments since 1945 and addressing three central issues: Why have states continued or begun programs for acquiring biological weapons? Why have states terminated biological weapons programs? How have states demonstrated that they have truly terminated their biological weapons programs? We now live in a world in which the basic knowledge needed to develop biological weapons is more widely available than ever before. "Deadly Cultures" provides the lessons from history that we urgently need in order to strengthen the long-standing prohibition of biological weapons.

Master of Philosophy (MPhil) / Typologies, especially of spearheads, have been decried as inadequate by the archaeological community. They have prevented the synthetic study of ancient weapons and obscured cultural contacts, changes in form and distribution, and changes in fighting style. This thesis presents new typologies of spearheads and swords which are not based on aesthetics or the need to communicate a large amount of material succinctly in the limited space of a site report. Rather, these typologies attempt to perceive the functional characteristics of these weapon classes. The thesis surveys a range of sites in Daunia, Basilicata and Southern Campania applying these new typologies to large suites of weapons. From this assessment a number of conclusions have flowed regarding cultural contacts between indigenous Southern Italic groups and with immigrating groups of Villanovan and Greek origin. The assessment reveals the variety of weapon forms in use and tracks changes over time. These changes expose cultural transformations and alterations in fighting styles. The tracking of paraphernalia often associated with weapons in modern scholarship has also revealed some nuances in patterns of association with weapons which were not previously apparent.

Master of Philosophy (MPhil) / Typologies, especially of spearheads, have been decried as inadequate by the archaeological community. They have prevented the synthetic study of ancient weapons and obscured cultural contacts, changes in form and distribution, and changes in fighting style. This thesis presents new typologies of spearheads and swords which are not based on aesthetics or the need to communicate a large amount of material succinctly in the limited space of a site report. Rather, these typologies attempt to perceive the functional characteristics of these weapon classes. The thesis surveys a range of sites in Daunia, Basilicata and Southern Campania applying these new typologies to large suites of weapons. From this assessment a number of conclusions have flowed regarding cultural contacts between indigenous Southern Italic groups and with immigrating groups of Villanovan and Greek origin. The assessment reveals the variety of weapon forms in use and tracks changes over time. These changes expose cultural transformations and alterations in fighting styles. The tracking of paraphernalia often associated with weapons in modern scholarship has also revealed some nuances in patterns of association with weapons which were not previously apparent.

Thesis (M.S. in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy)--Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School, 2007. / "7 April 2007." "National Defense Univ Norfolk VA"--DTIC cover." Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-63). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (LL. M.)--Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, 1965. / "April 1965." Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80). Also issued in microfiche.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Defense Decision-Making & Planning))--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2007. / AD-A475 821. "December 2007." Description based on title screen as viewed on January 17, 2008. Thesis Advisor(s): Russell, James A. ; Kadhim, Abbas. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-71). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 337. Thesis director: Christopher J. Davis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biodefense. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 19, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 308-336). Also issued in print.