BATTLESPACE/INFORMATION WAR (BAT/IW): a system-of-systems model of a strike operation

This paper presents a low-resolution, high-level modeling methodology for the analysis of the effectiveness of a Blue system of systems operating in a battlespace. The methodology enables quick turn around and efficient exploration of sensitivities of measures of Blue combat success to realistically imperfect Blue intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities: limited and imperfect sensor surveillance and reconnaissance, particularly battle damage assessment (BDA), and finite, hence saturable, communications and weapons delivery capability. The model explicitly represents aircraft sorties, fires, sensor/shooter latencies, target losses, imperfect target type classification, imperfect weapon assignment, and BDAvarious levels of the above imperfections can be applied, facilitating tradeoff studies, The model is deterministic/ expected value in nature, although it analytically represents time-dependent stochastic features such as system saturability. Model experimentation suggests the following results. Decreasing shooter latency can result in greater attrition than correspondingly increasing the probabilities of correct BDA or weapon assignment, although at the expense of a greater number of weapons fired per target killed. Erroneous BDA returns dead targets to the shooter targeting list. These dead targets not only result in wasted weapon expenditure but also take sensor/shooter resources away from legitimate live targets. Increasing the probability of correct BDA can result in a greater number of targets killed during a time period than increasing the probability of correct weapon assignment.

Understanding concurrent earcons: applying auditory scene analysis principles to concurrent earcon recognition

Two investigations into the identification of concurrently presented, structured sounds, called earcons were carried out. One of the experiments investigated how varying the number of concurrently presented earcons affected their identification. It was found that varying the number had a significant effect on the proportion of earcons identified. Reducing the number of concurrently presented earcons lead to a general increase in the proportion of presented earcons successfully identified. The second experiment investigated how modifying the earcons and their presentation, using techniques influenced by auditory scene analysis, affected earcon identification. It was found that both modifying the earcons such that each was presented with a unique timbre, and altering their presentation such that there was a 300 ms onset-to-onset time delay between each earcon were found to significantly increase identification. Guidelines were drawn from this work to assist future interface designers when incorporating concurrently presented earcons

Operations analysis of Fleet battle experiments using the Battlespace Information War methodology: preliminary report

This report outlines an approach for quantitative operations analysis of aspects of Fleet Battle Experiments (FBEs) using the methodology underlying the Battlespace Information War (BAT/IW) analytical tool. The general approach of this analysis methodology is to focus on a specific experimental initiative from one or more FBEs, such as Time Critical Targeting (TCT). BAT/IW models are then tailored to the experimental situation using actual data obtained from one or more experiments and the experiment systems architecture. After the models and actual data are reconciled, further analysis tasks are undertaken, such as predictions of the effects of attack intensity, and/or of C4ISR response time reduction. BAT/IW modeling helps analyze and understand the system-level impact of sensor data quality, including timeliness, as one contributor to total operation/campaign success. BAT/IW modeling also accounts for the latency involved in processing information, including communications delays, decision time, waiting, etc. An example is developed to show how operational data obtained during FBE Foxtrot can be quantitatively analyzed to indicate important sensitivities.--Report documentation page.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Utilization of complimentary and alternative medicine in primary care : what are the relations between it and conventional medicine?

Backgroud: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) utilization among various groups of patients in western countries is increasing. Objectives: To describe the utilization of various CAM methods in parallel with conventional pri- mary care medicine and the relations between it and conventional medicine. Study Design: Four hundred and eighty patients in two primary care clinics participated in the survey. The participants answered a structured questionnaire, which included socio-demographic information and details of CAM therapy utilization. Results: Eighty percent of those seeking CAM therapy received conventional medical treatment for the same complaint as well. When asked if CAM should be funded 69% agreed, 14% disagreed and 8.3% were undecided. The most frequent causes for using CAM therapy were insufficient improve- ment by conventional treatment (36%), a reluctance to take medications (19%) and willingness to try a new modality (13%). Most of those who received CAM therapy felt it was beneficial and claim they would return to use it in the future under similar circumstances. Conclusions: We found that the term complementary is more appropriate as most patients use CAM in parallel to conventional medicine. Patients using CAM are satisfied and intend to use CAM in the future.peer-reviewe

Supporting Worth Mapping with Sentence Completion

Expectations for design and evaluation approaches are set by the development practices within which they are used. Worth Centred Development (WCD) seeks to both shape and fit such practices. We report a study that combined two WCD approaches. Sentence completion gathered credible quantitative data on user values, which were used to identify relevant values and aversions of two player groups for an online gambling site. These values provided human value elements for a complementary WCD approach of worth mapping. Initial worth maps were extended in three workshops, which focused on outcomes and user experiences that could be better addressed in the current product and associated marketing materials. We describe how worth maps were prepared for, and presented in, workshops, and how product owners and associated business roles evaluated the combination of WCD approaches. Based on our experiences, we offer practical advice on this combinination

The Future Theater-Level Model: A Research Project Update

Proceedings of the 1994 Winter Simulation Conference ed. J. D. Tew, S. Manivannan, D. A. Sadowski, and A. F. SeilaResearch has been conducted at the Naval Postgraduate School into new methodologies for joint theater-level combat simulation modeling, emphasizing C3I, operational intelligence, decisionmaking under uncertainty, and aggregated stochastic process modeling. Research outcomes to date as well as a prototype software tool are described in this paper

Modeling and analysis of uncertain time-critical tasking problems

Naval Research Logistics, 53 , No. 6, (Sept. 2006), 588-599.This paper describes modeling and operational analysis of a generic asymmetric services-system situation in which (a) Red agents, potentially threatening, but in another but important interpretation, are isolated friendlies, such as downed pilots, that require assistance and "arrive" according to some partially known and potentially changing pattern in time and space: and (b) Reds have effectively limited unknown deadlines or times of availability for Blue service, i.e., detection, classification, and attack in a military setting or emergency assistance in others. We discuss various service options by Blue service agents and devise several approximations allowing one to compute efficiently those proportions of tasks of different classes that are successfully serviced, or more generally, if different rewards are associated with different classes of tasks, the percentage of the possible reward gained. We suggest heuristic policies of a Blue server to select the next task to perform and to decide how much time to allocate to that service. We discuss this for a number of specific examples

The experience of enchantment in human-computer interaction

Improving user experience is becoming something of a rallying call in human–computer interaction but experience is not a unitary thing. There are varieties of experiences, good and bad, and we need to characterise these varieties if we are to improve user experience. In this paper we argue that enchantment is a useful concept to facilitate closer relationships between people and technology. But enchantment is a complex concept in need of some clarification. So we explore how enchantment has been used in the discussions of technology and examine experiences of film and cell phones to see how enchantment with technology is possible. Based on these cases, we identify the sensibilities that help designers design for enchantment, including the specific sensuousness of a thing, senses of play, paradox and openness, and the potential for transformation. We use these to analyse digital jewellery in order to suggest how it can be made more enchanting. We conclude by relating enchantment to varieties of experience.</p

Modeling and Statistical Analysis of Bioassay data: Medaka Cell Proliferation Under DEN and TCE

The response of medaka liver to the chemicals DEN and TCE is analyzed statistically. The analysis illustrates the application of methods useful in environmetrics, i.e. environmental statistics. It suggests an overall dose- response effect but not an easily-interpreted dose-response functional relationship.U.S. Army Biomedical Research & Development Laboratory, Ft. Detrick, MDhttp://archive.org/details/modelingstatisti94014gaveRLLDG002J