Tactile reasoning and adaptive architecture for intelligence sense-making

Visual analytics is the science of analytical facilitated by interactive visual interfaces [1]. Visual analytics combines automated analysis techniques with interactive visualizations to facilitate reasoning and making sense of large and complex data sets [2]. A key component of visual analytics is information visualisation, which is the communication of abstract data through visual representations that simplify, aggregate and reveal important relationships [3]. However, information visualisation is just one part of the equation that is visual analytics. The ability to manipulate the data directly and to query and initiate analytic processes through that manipulation with the resulting information is the other major component of visual analytics [1]. Together, interaction, visualisation, and analytics, combine to create powerful tools for supporting the analysis and reasoning with large, mix‐format, multi‐source data sets. We are interested in the application of tactile reasoning to visual analytics. We define tactile reasoning as an interaction technique that supports the analytical reasoning process by the direct manipulation of information objects in a graphical user interface (GUI). In a study by Maglio et al [4] they found that participants using scrabble pieces (individual alphabets on tiles) generated more words when they were allowed to manipulate the scrabble pieces than when they are not allowed to interact with the pieces. The act of tactile manipulation of the scrabble pieces, i.e. the ability to rearrange them, allowed the participants to form words that they could not form without interaction. Tactile reasoning, we therefore hypothesise, enables individuals to see patterns in visually presented data sets they might otherwise not see through the manipulation, rearrangement and other interaction with the information objects. In this paper we describe the concept of tactile reasoning in the context of visual analytics, and the adaptive architecture needed to support it during real‐time manipulation. We conduct our investigation through a lab prototype – INVISQUE – Interactive Visual Search and Query Environment [4,5]. INVISQUE provides an information visualisation interface coupled with a “reasoning workspace” that facilitates tactile reasoning. INVISQUE was funded by JISC to provide an alternative interface to improve information search and retrieval and sense‐making in electronic library resource discovery systems such as the Emerald and ISI electronic journal databases. We have developed an adaptive architecture which underlies INVISQUE and supports the sense‐making by providing the system with the capability to rapidly adapt to changing circumstances

UNDER WHOSE UMBRELLA? THE EUROPEAN SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

The tragic events which occurred during the ‘90s in the Balkans have reiterated the need for the European Union (EU) to assume a much more assertive role in managing security concerns in Europe, including the development of European defence capabilities. In 1998, at Saint Malo, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac launched the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). This project has been generated due to the EU’s need to adopt a strategic framework within which to develop a global defence and security component, as well as due to a growing necessity for the EU to contribute effectively to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United Nations (UN) efforts of conducting defence, international crisis management and peacekeeping operations at an international level in conflict-prone areas. In recent years, ESDP has undergone a spectacular evolution, being now among the major issues discussed in Brussels. However, the creation of the ESDP has been greeted with caution by some NATO members being perceived primarily as a threat to the integrity of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The purpose of this paper is to examine the difficulties the ESDP has encountered since its inception and also to what extent it has affected the EU-NATO and the EU-US nexus.European Union, European Security and Defence Policy, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, European security architecture

NATO Counterterrorism and Article 5: Hammer of the North Atlantic or Paper Tiger?

This paper concerns the development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization\u27s counterterrorism program. It seeks to analyze the legal implications of this development and the program\u27s potential effectiveness. Specifically, the paper asserts that NATO\u27s counterterrorism program is consistent with the drafting history of the North Atlantic Treaty and that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is sufficiently flexible to support future NATO counterterrorism missions

Mirage of Defense: Reexamining Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty After the Terrorist Attacks on the United States

In 1949, twelve nations formed a regional alliance in an effort to counter perceived Soviet expansion, creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Collective defense-assisting member states under attack by an outside country, as articulated in Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty-has historically been its core function. Following fifty years of dormancy, Article Five was invoked after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. This Note discusses the expanding role of Article Five, increasing regionalization challenges, and whether the Treaty\u27s obligations compel affirmative actions from its members

Protecting the Northern Flank, or keeping the Cold War out of Scandinavia’? British planning and the debate on the place of Norway and Denmark in a North Atlantic pact, 1947-49

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis.A pragmatic, but focused, pursuit by British policy-makers of an alliance is often regarded as a central element in the genesis of the North Atlantic Treaty. Analysis of the issue of Scandinavian membership shows that British policy was not actually consistent regarding either means or ends. It was subject to internal debate, based upon conflicting assumptions in the Oslo embassy, the Foreign Office, and the armed forces. The Foreign Office's main concern was to provide Norway and Denmark with a sense of security so that they would take measures against internal subversion, while the military was more concerned to prevent British military resources being overstretched and were prepared to accept Scandinavian neutrality: they wished if possible to keep the cold war out of Scandinavia. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin and the Foreign Office did not believe this was possible, nor necessarily desirable, but were less than wholehearted about Norway and Denmark joining the pact on their own. Even in early 1949, when Soviet pressure was applied to Norway, Britain was ambivalent about whether Norway should be a founder-member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Although Britain strongly desired the alliance for long-term gains, they worked hard to ensure the form it took worked to meet their short-term needs

Romania: Euro-Atlantic Integration and Economic Reform

The importance of President Clinton\u27s visit to Bucharest goes far beyond the symbolism represented by the first visit of an American president to a free and democratic Romania. Euro-Atlantic integration does not start when a country states its commitment to being a candidate for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (\u27NATO\u27) or European Union (\u27EU\u27) membership and does not end with the moment of accession. Among Central European nations, accession to NATO has enjoyed the greatest public support in Romania. Romania\u27s integration into the European Union is the other foreign policy goal that, together with accession to NATO, is considered indispensable to Romania\u27s development as a stable and prosperous free market democracy. Romania took advantage of the instruments set up by the EU which are meant to assist Central European associated countries in their preparation for accession. Economic integration does not take place overnight; negotiations for accession to the EU of Finland, Sweden and Austria -- prosperous European nations and former European Free Trade Agreement ( EFTA ) members -- lasted for four years. The prospect of EU membership has been a main factor that has enabled Romania to become a member of Central European Free Trade Area ( CEFTA )

Molecular Energy Transfer and Spectroscopy

Contains research objectives and summary of research.National Science Foundation (Grant GP-9318)Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society (Grant 2523-A5)Petroleum Research Fund of the American Chemical Society (Grant 2523-AC5)North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Grant 405)U. S. Army Research Office (Contract DAHCO4-70-C-0015)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio