Professor Nsia-Pepra Presents at International Studies Associaltion Annual Convention

Professor Kofi Nsia-Pepra recently presented three papers at the International Studies Association's Annual Convention in New York City.

Nsia-Pepra's first paper was entitled: Robust Peacekeeping? Confronting the Failures of Traditional Peacekeeping in Preventing Human Rights Violations.

His second paper was entitled: Truth or Justice? The Appropriate Mechanism for Accountability for Genocide and Crimes against Humanity in Africa.

The third paper was presented as part of a panel on USA-Africa Policy - Recommendations All papers were presented on Sunday February 15, which made for a very busy day for Nsia-Pepra.

Speaker Addresses Global Terrorism

Dr. Daniel Masters, assistant professor of political science at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, delivered a lecture on “International Terrorism and Counterterrorism in the Post-9/11 World” at 7 p.m., Feb.19, in the McIntosh Ballroom.

The event was sponsored by Ohio Northern’s Committee on Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

In his talk, Masters evaluated the nature of the global terrorist threat versus the varied national terrorist threats in a comprehensive way to distinguish the source of terrorist threats, regional orientations of terrorism, and the national versus truly global threats we face. He will also analyze the different global counterterrorism efforts, and the varied national responses to terrorism with a particular emphasis on the tensions between national and global counterterrorism interests and policies.

He argued that despite a promising start to forming a comprehensive antiterrorist effort after September 11th, 2001, international cooperation has been waning in recent years. According to Masters, the main reasons for this have been a lack of capacity in some nations, and the feeling that the effort had been "Americanized" focusing exclusively on Al Quaeda, which has caused some to drop out because of conflicting national interests that may not be so concerned with that terrorist organization.

Masters presented data that indicated the two chief contributers to international terrorism were failed states and weak democracies. Also according to his data, most terrorist acts are committed in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Latin America and Europe coming in second and third. During question and answer, Masters agreed with a questioner that Africa may have been weighted too high due to counting civil war deaths as terrorist attacks.

Masters received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2000 with concentrations in international relations and comparative politics. His research interests relate to terrorism. His research has led him to Belfast and Israeli-occupied territories to conduct interviews with terrorists, supporters of terrorist movements, and opponents of terrorist movements.

ONU Graduate Discusses Afghanistan Experiences

Colonel John J. Smith, ONU Class of 1982, delivered a talk Tuesday evening in the Dicke Forum on his experiences in Afghanistan. Smith, who teaches English Literature at the United States Military Academy at West Point, was in Afghanistan working with the Afghans to set up an English Bachelors program for the military academy they are in the process of creating.

Speaking of his personal experiences, rather than in his official position in the U.S. Army, Smith detailed many of the problems that he encountered in this project. While all Afghan army officers will be required to learn English as a part of their curriculum at the academy, he found that the faculty’s skills in the language were not yet sufficient to justify awarding a degree. The program was also hampered by the entrenched corruption that plagues efforts there. Smith related that when he removed texts that he had brought along from their cellophane wrappings, there was an audible reaction from the faculty, who were apparently concerned that the price these books would fetch on the black market had been lowered by the action. Unfortunately, according to Smith, this is the fate of much of the aid sent to Afghanistan. He used a hypothetical example to illustrate his point, saying that if Sweden had sent a team to build an orphanage, there would have been an impressive ceremony to open the facility and the Swedes would have left believing they had made a difference. But if those Swedes had returned a year later, they would likely have found that an Afghan warlord had taken over the building and subdivided it into apartments that would have then been sold to cronies, forcing out the orphans. He also related that the computers at the nascent academy were not hooked up because imams (Muslim religious authorities) were concerned that students would use them to view pornography. Despite the difficulties, Smith stated that the Afghans were doing the best they could, given the many problems under which they had to work, but that change would be slow and difficult.

Colonel Smith also delivered a talk for the Western Civilization Speaker Series earlier in the afternoon in the Hakes-Pierstorf Pharmacy building. Around 150 Western Civilization students listened to Smith talk about the Vietnam Era and Popular Music. He played various songs, including Where Have All the Flowers Gone, The Universal Soldier, and the Ballad of the Green Beret’s, making the point that despite the human and material destruction of war, we study conflicts as a part of Western Civilization because these times also serve to accelerate changes in society, including the arts. Smith’s Civ Series talk can be accessed in streaming video at HPJ SIGNATURE LECTURES - WATCH US IN ACTION!! (see upper left of this page) there you will find Western Civilization Series: Colonel John Smith on Vietnam and Popular Music that will open the presentation.

Pictured are Professor Rob Waters of HPJ, Smith's brother-in-law, and Colonel Smith. Professor Sarah Waters of the Music Department is Smith's sister.

Lima Police Officer Talks with Criminal Justice Class

Scott Jones, who has been an officer on the Lima Police Department force for nine years, talked with CJ students in Professor Zeck Lee's class about his experiences in an urban department. Jones told students about the wide variety of situations that he was required to handle in his job.

Professor Lee stated that Jones did an excellent job and that the students enjoyed hearing about his experiences.

HPJ celebrates Mardi Gras

Professor Jimmy Wilson supplied the King Cake, a traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras treat, and HPJ supplied the appetite as we celebrated the holiday a little early. Its always Mardi Gras somewhere!

Local Police Chief addresses CJ students

Ada Police Chief Michael Harnishfeger talked to the Police in America (PLSC 122) class today, sharing with them his experiences at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Quantico, VA training academy. Harnishfeger told students about the curriculum of the academy and how he came to attend it.

He also spoke to the Criminal Justice students about job prospects in the field, including law enforcement, and private security.

Study by Professor Lee Links Burglary Reduction to Increase in Alarms Systems

(Newark, NJ, Jan. 15, 2009) – A comprehensive study of five years of statistics by researchers at the Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice (SCJ) in Newark found that residential burglar alarm systems decrease crime. While other studies have concluded that most burglars avoid alarms systems, this is the first study to focus on alarm systems while scientifically ruling out other factors that could have impacted the crime rate.

Researchers concentrated on analyzing crime data provided by the Newark Police Department. “Data showed that a steady decrease in burglaries in Newark between 2001 and 2005 coincided with an increase in the number of registered home burglar alarms,” said study author Dr. Seungmug (a.k.a. Zech) Lee, who received his doctoral degree from SCJ in 2008 and presently teaches at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. “The study credits the alarms with the decrease in burglaries and the city’s overall crime rate.”

In short, the study found that an installed burglar alarm makes a dwelling less attractive to the would‐be and active intruders and protects the home without displacing burglaries to nearby homes.

The study also concluded that the deterrent effect of alarms is felt in the community at large. “Neighborhoods in which burglar alarms were densely installed have fewer incidents of residential burglaries than the neighborhoods with fewer burglar alarms,” the study noted.

Author discusses new book

Tuesday night in Dicke 230, the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Special Events (CASE) sponsored a talk by Professor Marc J. O’Reilly, who was on campus promoting his book Unexceptional: America's Empire in the Persian Gulf,1941-2007.

O’Reilly, who teaches political science at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, argued that despite assertions to the contrary, the United States is an imperial power. He claimed that this may be an informal empire, in that there are no formal colonies, but that the American political, economic, and military presence around the world, particularly in the Middle East, do constitute what has been historically labeled “empire.” He began by a general discussion of empire, then moved on to chronicle the history of the American presence in the Middle East, arguing that while our influence in the Middle East recovered from its nadir following the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq has caused that influence to once again decline.

Around sixty students, faculty members, and community residents heard the presentation and asked several questions of the author, who remained after the talk to sign copies of his book. Copies of O’Reilly’s work are available at the University Bookstore.

Pictured is Professor Michael Lougholin, CASE representative, and O'Reilly