In Harmonium

Being in the main the musings of a Symbolic Anthropologist

Structure and Function in Information Operations

Marc | June 29, 2008

In my last post, I laid out what I consider to be the start of developing a theory of Information Operations (IO). Most of that post deals with an attempt to crate a definition of IO. In the end, the definition I came up with was
Information Operations are a) actions taken by actors, [...]

Notes towards a theory of Information Opeations (IO)

Marc | June 27, 2008

Yesterday (June 26, 2008), Andrew Exum posted a blog entry over at Small Wars Journal on Information Operations. As part of the post, he laid out a challenge to SWC members.
My challenge for this website’s readers, then, is the following: what do we, as counter-insurgency theorists and practitioners, mean when we use the term [...]

Of joking relationships

Marc | June 21, 2008

The (potential) role of Anthropology operating with the military has been a topic of rather heated discussion for some time. In some cases, the reactions by Anthropologists have been close to witch hunts, while in other cases they have been quite positive. The latest foo-forah comes with the revelation that Montgomery McFate may [...]

Some thoughts on training and education

Marc | June 5, 2008

I just finished reading two interesting pieces – one by Sam Lisles called Education Paradigm and the other by Matthew Reisz called Hits and Misses. Both deal with crucial questions about what is “scholarship” and “education”, albeit from quite different angles, and what reciprocal effects exist between society and the education system.
Reisz’s piece concentrates [...]

Why travel to Canada?

Marc | June 3, 2008

Canada’s Tourism industry is in trouble.
“Canada’s tourism sector is on the brink of a crisis today, and we need urgent action from governments at all levels to address some longstanding structural burdens on our industry,”
said Randy Williams, President and CEO of Tourism Industry Association of Canada in a recent press release and on the CTV [...]