NASA IV&V's Cyber Range for Space Systems

A cyber range is a virtual environment that is used for cyberwarfare training and cyber technology development. It provides tools that help strengthen the stability, security and performance of cyber infrastructures and IT systems. NASA IV&V has created an adaptable virtual environment that is representative of a typical NASA mission system of systems environment that serves multiple purposes: Training of network defenders. Ability to perform simulated red vs blue training events. Ability to deploy mission specific technologies in a cyber contested environment. Ability to demonstrate vulnerabilities and their impact to ground and space systemsThe overall system is comprised of more than 70 virtual machines and physical infrastructure to demonstrate real-world cyber attacks against: email users, wireless networks, and physically implanted devices with command and control call-back. The cyber range was built to emulate a NASA precipitation satellite infrastructure.This presentation will give an overview of the virtual cyber range and how it was used to conduct a simulate red vs blue exercise with the goal of compromising the simulated spacecraft that utilizes real NASA flight software

Next-Generation Air Force Weather Metrics via Bayes Cost Analysis

This research proposes a new methodology for U.S. Air Force weather forecast metrics. Military weather forecasters are essentially statistical classifiers. They categorize future conditions into an operationally relevant category based on current data, much like an Artificial Neural Net or Logistic Regression model. There is extensive literature on statistically-based metrics for these types of classifiers. Additionally, in the U.S. Air Force, forecast errors (errors in classification) have quantifiable operational costs and benefits associated with incorrect or correct classification decisions. There is a methodology in the literature, Bayes Cost, which provides a structure for creating statistically rigorous metrics for classification decisions that have such costs and benefits. Applying these types of metrics to Air Force weather yields more informative metrics that account for random chance while remaining simple to calculate. This research conducts an analysis using notional values from an unnamed subject matter expert. Bayes Cost-based verification on Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts and Watches/Warnings/Advisories compared to surface observations from a selection of military installations in the continental United States during the period 01 May 2019 to 30 June 2019. The case study illustrates the added utility of the new metric paradigm

Brief

Appellants contend that the Fourteenth Amendment protects marriage as a fundamental right of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation. Therefore, appellants contend that Section 411, under which the clerk of Declaration County circuit court acted in denying appellants\u27 request for a marriage license, must be unconstitutional. Appellants predicate their contentions on Lawrence v. Texas. Unfortunately for appellants, the holdings of Lawrence are too weak a wind to shift the ship of marriage from its historical and legal course. To understand why Lawrence is inadequate for the purpose for which appellants invoke it, the Court must look to the right of marriage as it existed prior to Lawrence, and then decide whether the holdings of Lawrence stretch that right to encompass same-sex relationships

Brief

Appellants contend that the Fourteenth Amendment protects marriage as a fundamental right of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation. Therefore, appellants contend that Section 411, under which the clerk of Declaration County circuit court acted in denying appellants\u27 request for a marriage license, must be unconstitutional. Appellants predicate their contentions on Lawrence v. Texas. Unfortunately for appellants, the holdings of Lawrence are too weak a wind to shift the ship of marriage from its historical and legal course. To understand why Lawrence is inadequate for the purpose for which appellants invoke it, the Court must look to the right of marriage as it existed prior to Lawrence, and then decide whether the holdings of Lawrence stretch that right to encompass same-sex relationships

Turning points or turning around: Family coach work with 'troubled families'

The study aimed to discover how family coaches work intensively with families with moderately complex problems bringing together perceptions from 20 families, 20 coaches and six other professionals, and exploring potential savings for 50 family cases. The Family Coaching Service is part of the English government’s ‘Troubled Families’ payment by results initiative, seeking to help families ‘turn their lives around’ to save state spending on anti-social behaviour, worklessness and school absence. Results show the work to be a staged process, over six months with the coach combining practical help with relationship building to engage families, set and achieve goals and negotiate endings. Cost savings were made in 82% of cases. Family coaches find the work rewarding but emotionally demanding. Families say their coach is special and different, and describe potential turning point experiences stemming from the work with their coach. There is clear congruence in the perceptions of the service from families, coaches and other professionals. Some tensions were evident in the work with other professionals and in managing relationship boundaries with families. Relationship-based help offered by para-professionals may offer a promising model of family support that statutory social workers in particular can learn from and engage with

In deciding how to exercise power via Executive Orders, US Presidents appeal to Congress only if it can be united

Recent months have seen Republican attacks on President Obama, accusing him of presiding over an ‘imperial presidency’, but to what extent do presidents actually operate completely outside of Congress’ powers? By looking at 5,000 executive orders issued by presidents over the last 80 years Jeremy D. Bailey and Brandon Rottinghaus find that when issuing these orders, presidents tend to appeal back to Congress when the majority party is strong, and act unilaterally when the majority is weak and divided

Social work intervention with adults who self-neglect in England: responding to the Care Act 2014

Purpose – The paper reports on findings from an evaluative research study which looked at a timed intervention model of practice comprising of up to 24 weeks of intensive meetings with adult service users set up by one local authority in England, to prevent and delay the need for care and support. A particular focus of this paper is adults who hoard. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a mixed-methods design, consisting of interviews with service users (n=13); social workers (n=3); social work managers (n=2); and stakeholders from external services and agencies (n=6). It included a costings analysis of staff time and an analysis of service users’ goals and of ‘satisfaction with life’ self-report questionnaires (n=20), completed at pre- and post-intervention stages. Findings – There was evidence that social workers used strengths, relationship-based and outcome-focused approaches in their work. The techniques used by social workers to engage, achieve change and assess effectiveness with service users varied. These included the use of photographs to enable the service user to map and assess their own progress over time, encouraging hoarders to declutter and reclaim their living space. The service users valued the time the social workers spent with them and the way that they were treated with sensitivity and respect. Research limitations/implications – The study focused on one local authority in England; there was no comparison group. This, and the small sample size, means that statistical generalisations cannot be made and only limited conclusions can be drawn from the quantitative data