Graphical Models for Composable Finite Markov Processes

Abstract.  Composable Markov processes were introduced by Schweder (1970) in order to capture the idea that a process can be composed of different components where some of these only depend on a subset of the other components. Here we propose a graphical representation of this kind of dependence which has been called 'local dependence'. It is shown that the graph allows to read off further independencies characterizing the underlying Markov process. Also, some standard methods for inference are adapted to exploit the graphical representation, e.g. for testing local independence.     

A Cultural-Psychological Theory of Contemporary Islamic Martyrdom

What political, economic, religious, and emotional factors are involved in a person's decision to kill civilians and military personnel through the sacrifice of his or her own life? Data for this research were secondary analyses of interviews with Islamic martyrs, as well as their leaders’ speeches. This investigation into the cultural‐psychological explanations for Islamic martyrdom leads to a model explaining a person's decision to carry out the mission as resulting from a combination of four factors: the historical‐cultural context, group processes, immediate and anticipated rewards, and mechanisms to eradicate possible doubts and guilt regarding this decision. Compared to existing models, this model is more integrative and focused on the psychological processes involved.