VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS OF GUAM’S DEFENSE POSTURE

Since the end of the Second World War, Guam has served as a linchpin of U.S. military power in the Indo-Pacific. As the United States’ westernmost territory in the world, Guam has been lauded as the place where America’s day begins. However, with its strategic importance and abundance of military combat power, Guam may be where America’s next war begins. Following decades of reform and modernization, the People’s Liberation Army presents a significant threat to the preeminence of U.S. military power in the region. This study uses a structured vulnerability analysis based on the principles of risk analysis, reliability engineering, adversarial analysis, and safety engineering to identify Guam’s critical vulnerabilities and formulate recommendations that enhance the territory’s defense posture. This study finds that Guam’s missile defense posture constitutes the island’s most significant vulnerability and recommends that congressional budgetary initiatives must remain focused on enhancing Guam’s missile defense capability and hardening defense infrastructure throughout the Pacific territories. Should modern warfare reach the shores of Guam, the U.S. military will have to fight for Guam before it can fight from it.Outstanding ThesisLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

RIO Country Report Latvia 2014

This analytical country report is the first of a series of annual RIO Country Reports. This Country Report builds on the series of ERAWATCH reports. The report offers an analysis of the R&I system in Latvia for 2014, including relevant policies and funding, with particular focus on topics critical for two EU policies: the European Research Area and the Innovation Union. The report was prepared according to a set of guidelines for collecting and analysing a range of materials, including policy documents, statistics, evaluation reports, websites etc. The report identifies the structural challenges of the Latvian research and innovation system and assesses the match between the national priorities and those challenges, highlighting the latest policy developments, their dynamics and impact in the overall national context.JRC.J.6-Innovation Systems Analysi

A System Perspective to Privacy, Security and Resilience in Mobile Applications

Mobile applications have changed our life so much, but they also create problems related to privacy which is one of basic human rights. Protection (or security) of privacy is an important issue in mobile applications owing to the high likelihood of privacy violation nowadays. This thesis is devoted to a fundamental study on the privacy issue in mobile applications. The overall objective of the thesis is to advance our understanding of privacy and its relevant concepts in the context of mobile applications. There are three specific objectives with this thesis. Objective 1 is to have a more comprehensive understanding of the concepts of privacy, security and resilience (PSR for short) along with their relationship in the context of mobile applications. Objective 2 is to develop the principles of design of a mobile application system with a satisfactory PSR. Objective 3 is to develop a demonstration system (PSR demo for short) to illustrate how the principles of design can be applied. A salient approach was taken in this thesis, that is based on a general knowledge architecture called FCBPSS (F: function, C: context, B: behavior, P: principle. SS: state and structure). An analysis of literature was conducted first, resulting in a classification of various privacies against the FCPBSS architecture, followed by developing a theory of privacy, protection of privacy (security), and resilience of the system that performs protection of privacy, PSR theory for short. The principles of design of a mobile application system based on the PSR theory were then developed, which are expected to guide the practice of developing a mobile application for satisfactory privacy protection. Finally, a demonstration system, regarding the doctor booking for minimum waiting time and energy consumption, was developed to issue how the PSR theory and design principles work. The main contribution of this thesis is the development of the concept of PSR, especially the relationship among privacy (P), security (S), and resilience (R), and a set of design rules to develop a mobile application based on the PSR theory

Development of intelligent buildings and their impacts on architecture In Turkey

Thesis (master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, Architecture, İzmir, 2002Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 176-185)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishxiv, 205 leavesRelated to every period.s life conditions the community.s needs show differences. Today.s people giving prior importance to business life and depending on this priority and the incoming intense, active life flow bring up the need of .facilitating life. and again one of the most main problems in today.s life described as energy loss is reduced by designing .energy conscious. buildings. At this point of view, developing technologic and construction sector take on the roles as two important inputs to help design concept. Considerably the technological developments that took place with .Industrial Revolution. started the use of machine power, created new bazaars and new work areas, and brought up the creation of new life styles with itself. With these points, this process came across the new trends in architecture and construction. Spreading use of information technologies, make differences in expectations about daily life standards. As men can adapt the changing needs and obtain maximum suitability, need buildings with minimum cost for usage and upkeep. The main aim of the buildings described as .intelligent buildings. is use of minimum energy and besides to obtain system works and comfort at an optimal level. To be considered as intelligent, building must; With these points, besides the advantages that intelligent buildings bring up, they can cause important problems to take place. With their electrical infrastructure they may cause the inhabitants to be abstracted from the outer life, and with respect the people working in multi-storey buildings have health problems like .building syndrome. or because of the computer aided structure of these buildings .accessibility. problems can occur. These problems come in the first places on the problems rank. In the solutions of the problems occurring by intensive use and by the way increasing demands, at the point architectural solutions become insufficient electro-mechanical systems join. For providing high life standards complete for today and tomorrow.s life, the buildings which are designed bye using series of technological solutions, are composed of the integration of these systems. All these developments, different than the conventional design process, need the information flow with the other science branches -interdisciplinary approach-. A building to be formed as intelligent by .architectural concepts., with a large proportion is related to the .architect.s intelligence.. In these terms architect must be following all new developments in technology. In other ways, intelligent buildings will be the buildings designed by engineers. Nearly in the past ten years, intelligent building applications are also seen in our country. But whether the lack of investigation about the abroad works or these buildings participated in our lives with the unnecessary ambition of consumption, so with these facts intelligent buildings cannot deserve their attribute. To state that a building is totally intelligent, from the design process, the project must be taken up as a total work with the sub-systems providing central supervision and administrating. But the approach in our country sees the sufficiency as a building that owns one of the named systems or any residence full of intelligent house products. Of course these terms are not enough for intelligence. As a result, this work examines the approach to the subject in our country by evaluating sub-systems of intelligent building concept, design criteria, the advantages and disadvantages of these buildings, and the degree of intelligence. Key words: intelligent building, building automation system, office automation system, telecommunications system, information technology, and energy conscious buildings

Cyberidentities

This innovative study explores diverse aspects of Canadian and European identity on the information highway and reaches beyond technical issues to confront and explore communication, culture and the culture of communication

Can B2G portals be used effectively to stimulate business in SMEs?: A case analysis of the 2Cities Business To Government portal

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have many options when purchasing goods or services. These include personal contacts and networks, familiar centralised supply sources and other ad hoc means. One purchasing possibility is to buy from and sell to other businesses within a similar geographic area. The benefits of buying and selling locally may not occur to SMEs. They seek, like other consumers, to get value for money, fast and efficient service, and a reasonable level of quality. Many factors can impinge upon an SME\u27s decision to purchase locally. It can be assumed that, given a reasonable local option, SMEs wish to buy from and sell to other local businesses. It can also be reasonably expected that if government purchasers were willing to purchase within their geographic area, SMEs would be interested in supplying local government as well. This study investigates SMEs in the Wanneroo and Joondalup Regions of Western Australia and considers the factors that may influence their decision to use the 2Cities Business-to-Government (B2G) portal. The study is concerned with gaining an insight into particular phenomena from a participants\u27 perspective (SME) with the researcher as the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. The study requires the researcher to get close to the natural setting of the study and interact with the small business owners. This study triangulated results from three major sources. One source of data was contemporary Wanneroo and Joondalup secondary data gathered from research reports relating to local SME matters. This was combined with the semi-structured interviews of forty SMEs and two focus groups. Participant SMEs were invited to discuss factors affecting their decision to use or not use the 2Cities B2G portal. SMEs have a clear perception of what impedes and assists them in running their business and this comes through strongly. The problem facing the 2Cities portal management board is the extent to which it can influence the SME decision to buy and sell within the local area using the portal. The results form the basis of an improved model for B2G participation

Strategy Tripod Perspective on the Determinants of Airline Efficiency in A Global Context: An Application of DEA and Tobit Analysis

The airline industry is vital to contemporary civilization since it is a key player in the globalization process: linking regions, fostering global commerce, promoting tourism and aiding economic and social progress. However, there has been little study on the link between the operational environment and airline efficiency. Investigating the amalgamation of institutions, organisations and strategic decisions is critical to understanding how airlines operate efficiently. This research aims to employ the strategy tripod perspective to investigate the efficiency of a global airline sample using a non-parametric linear programming method (data envelopment analysis [DEA]). Using a Tobit regression, the bootstrapped DEA efficiency change scores are further regressed to determine the drivers of efficiency. The strategy tripod is employed to assess the impact of institutions, industry and resources on airline efficiency. Institutions are measured by global indices of destination attractiveness; industry, including competition, jet fuel and business model; and finally, resources, such as the number of full-time employees, alliances, ownership and connectivity. The first part of the study uses panel data from 35 major airlines, collected from their annual reports for the period 2011 to 2018, and country attractiveness indices from global indicators. The second part of the research involves a qualitative data collection approach and semi-structured interviews with experts in the field to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the first part’s significant findings. The main findings reveal that airlines operate at a highly competitive level regardless of their competition intensity or origin. Furthermore, the unpredictability of the environment complicates airline operations. The efficiency drivers of an airline are partially determined by its type of business model, its degree of cooperation and how fuel cost is managed. Trade openness has a negative influence on airline efficiency. COVID-19 has toppled the airline industry, forcing airlines to reconsider their business model and continuously increase cooperation. Human resources, sustainability and alternative fuel sources are critical to airline survival. Finally, this study provides some evidence for the practicality of the strategy tripod and hints at the need for a broader approach in the study of international strategies