ciro's corner
Ciro, the official puppy of the STRAX project, would like to warmly welcome you to his corner!
Here Ciro closely follows and monitors the work of the STRAX-team, whilst striving to achieve his own strategic objectives: regular flow of treats and walks. Occasionally he even offers some thoughts for treats, of course in connection to strategic cultures and their change.
Ciro's Midsummer greetings:
I found out what our team was planning all spring. It was the workshop after all! They must have gotten the idea from my recent collaborations. I am glad to be an inspiration to the team!
Now I am looking forward to many summer walks that go by an ice cream stand. I could also settle for some walks that lead to a beach where I am allowed to swim. Sounds nice, right? I hope you all get to enjoy the summertime as well!
Woof,
Ciro
Visiting guests with Ciro vol. 2:
We continue with our visiting four legged guests! Joining me today is my friend and colleague Haiku. Welcome to Ciro’s corner! Haiku shares his thoughts on being present in the moment. This advice is useful in many different contexts like, you guessed it, the study of strategic cultures. Even when the study of strategic cultures includes a lot of examining the past, it is important to remember to stay in the present and keep an eye on the future.
In Haiku’s experience being present and listening carefully to others could mean for example anticipating the moment when someone is about to go to the kitchen or is getting ready to go out. Being aware of this highly increases the chances of extra treats and walks. What an insightful observation!
Special thanks to Haiku for joining me today and sharing his thoughts with us!
Woof,
Ciro & Haiku
Pictured: Anticipating the arrival of delicious lunch.
Visiting guests with Ciro:
The study of strategic cultures, and research in general, is often a group effort. Therefore, I also wanted to have visiting guests here in my corner to share their wisdom with us. Today joining me are Igor and Boris, who have years of experience in strategic work. Their fieldwork as elkhounds requires skills in cooperation and working towards a shared goal. Something that is true regarding the study of strategic cultures as well. It truly is a team effort!
One of their own strategic goals is to optimize the amount of attention they can get together. This also includes cooperation. Even though they would occasionally enjoy having all the treats and adoring attention from their family for themselves individually, they both agree that sharing results in a much more sustainable amount of attention and treats.
Thanks for joining me today Igor and Boris!
Woof,
Ciro, Igor & Boris
Pictured: Sharing the attention in action.
Ciro's spring observations:
Hello again friends! I cannot help but have a little spring in my step as the nature around us is getting greener. There are so many new smells in the air during my walks and they all tell different new stories. I hope we all can take a moment and stop to appreciate the new life growing around us. The STRAX team has also been working on something new. I am still figuring out exactly what it is though. They have been having all these mysterious meetings, but I am sure they will tell me soon!
In the meantime, I have been working on this new enrichment strategy of my own too. You see, I got this new toy that makes the most excellent squeaky sounds. My personal observation is that the STRAX team must love it as much as I do, because every time I make it squeak during their meetings they often want to try it themselves too! But I am unsure if they know how to use it, because when it is their turn, they don’t make it squeak like I do. I will keep showing them how it is done, and I am sure they will learn in no time!
I hope you all are having a wonderfully sunny spring!
Woof,
Ciro
Happy New Year from Ciro!
New year, new research! Our STRAX team has certainly jumped right back into action after the holidays. They visited a conference in Imatra, and unfortunately, they did not include me as a speaker in their panel. However, as the life of a researcher can get quite sedentary with the constant reading and writing, I have had an important role in the STRAX team making sure everyone gets enough exercise and fresh air by taking me to long walks in the crispy winter weather! This could be argued to be an equally important job, so I am very happy to do my part as a team member.
Woof,
Ciro
Ciro's Season's Greetings:
The researchers at the STRAX project have been busy! They have been travelling all over Europe to meet with experts and international colleagues to talk about the importance of studying strategic cultures, which I haven’t minded, since I have gotten nice little treats and souvenirs from their travels. They attended a conference in Lille and it sounds like there is a lot of interest in their work. This shows how up-to-date the research done in the STRAX project really is. I enjoy having them back home for now because it means I get a lot of belly rubs and long walks before they leave for another conference in Imatra next January. I wonder if they would take me with them. I would love to visit the local dog park and offer my insights to the attendees of the conference… Either way, after relaxing and eating a lot of treats over the holidays the work continues!
I wish you all a relaxing holiday season!
Woof,
Ciro
Ciro’s reading recommendations:
Hello friends! The weather here is getting colder, but the STRAX team has not slowed down one bit. The team has been working on their project restlessly. Have you checked out any of the work they have done so far? I hear they have collected a bunch of the publications on this website. Sooner or later there will be so many publications to go through, it is better to start reading early! Maybe I could be a co-author on one of the publications one day too! That sounds like a brilliant idea, don’t you think?
Woof,
Ciro
Ciro’s summer greeting:
Ciro is excited and ready for the summer season. He plans to swim and storm around parks whilst the rest of the STRAX team is busy preparing their conference papers for the upcoming EISA 2024 conference in Lille!
Ciro’s opening remarks:
I’m happy as a puppy to see the project successfully kicked-off and moving forward! The recent dramatic events in European security environment have made the study of strategic cultures in Europe even more relevant than perhaps anticipated when the team first formulated the project plan. At the same time, particularly during this time of radical uncertainty, there is a need for careful theoretical and empirical research that contributes to knowledge production and understanding of strategic culture more broadly. Stay tuned!