Training & Education for the Homeland Security Intelligence Community

What is the state of training and education in the intelligence community, what are core competencies for analysts, and how can training be improved in the future? Intelligence is vital to the national security framework advanced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The intelligence mission spans 17 DHS components tasked with various elements of our nation’s protection, as well as multiple agencies across the broader intelligence community (IC). Building and strengthening the DHS workforce in counterterrorism operations starts with effectively trained and educated intelligence workers

Economic Growth or Stagnation during the Interwar Period: Reconstruction of Cypriot GDP 1921-1938

This paper explores the macro-economic history of Cyprus in the inter-war period. It constructs the first detailed estimates of output at aggregate and sector levels, enabling the analysis of economic growth and the sectoral structure of the island’s economy. It evaluates its performance within the context of economic change on Europe’s South Eastern periphery and, specifically, in light of the experience of British colonial rule. The thesis argues, first, that economic growth was slow in wider European comparison and as sluggish as in neighbouring countries. It was so despite the island being far less exposed to the political upheavals of the First World War than most other economies in South Eastern Europe. Cyprus experienced a prolonged agricultural crisis, but participated in the post-depression recovery through the growth in international demand for the output of its copper mining industry. The colonial government remained committed to balanced budgets and non-intervention in the economy, limiting their ability to combat the effects of the great depression. As a result, the deteriorating economic situation increased the political tension between the islanders and the colonial government. The reluctance to mount an effective policy response to the great depression acted as a catalyst to political polarization, leading to violence and the suspension of the island’s constitution

Project 10: Training and Education Research and Implementation Strategies for Homeland Security Intelligence Community

Intelligence is vital to national security. Since 2001, there has been a significant movement to protecting U.S. borders and citizens from experiencing the devastating effects of terrorism, among other national security threats. Since its inception in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security has founded the creation of a national security framework based on intelligence. However, there remains significant gaps in the standardization of intelligence training and education. This may be due in part due to the differing missions of DHS components under the overarching umbrella of national security. From experience, it is known that homeland security not only encompasses counterterrorism, but also border protection, emergency management, cyber security, and more. Due to the multifaceted and ever evolving nature of homeland security, there are 17 DHS components to approach the broader issue of national security. Scholars debate on how intelligence education and training should be taught, and who should teach this curriculum. When intelligence training was in its initial stages, most of it was conducted in-house by government agencies. As the demand for homeland security efforts have increased following 9/11, universities have developed homeland security intelligence programs to accommodate the instruction gap. A major issue with two separate entities creating courses to fulfill the intelligence demand is the variation in education and training content. While some scholars believe that a greater professionalization of intelligence careers would help better establish core competencies, others argue that not all levels and types of analysis require the same types of competencies (Bruce and George, 2015, p. 4; Moore and Krizan, 2009). There not only exists a lack of education standardization in the intelligence community, but also in core competency definitions. Due to the overall lack of IC standards in both IC in-house training and university education, some programs fail to include content that is relevant to a professional intelligence career, which creates employee pipeline issues for DHS intelligence needs. This slows the hiring process and exacerbates the issues that come with understaffing, which include low employee morale, high turnover, and demand for more versatile employees. A lack of DHS-wide core competencies only feeds this issue with variation of DHS component missions. In response to the uneven education that employees may receive either from a university or instruction in-house, some agencies have established their own schoolhouses with separate competencies and standard training. Through ethnographic interviews with Intelligence Community members including many DHS participants, as well as in-depth research and domain analysis drawing on scholarly literature and published government reports, Project 10 researchers found a lack of benchmarks for core competencies associated with intelligence analysis as well as multiple gaps in the current implementation of intelligence training and education. There was very little research and literature pertaining to intelligence analysis standards that also mapped how competencies are measured, implemented, and organized. With little guidance or uniformity, the intelligence community entry-level workforce talent demonstrates how knowledge, skills, and abilities vary in similar positions when core competencies are not utilized or enforced. The absence of standardization and structure highlights the need for core competency framework across the entire intelligence community that not only establishes intelligence analysis core competencies but also recommends how these practices and standards could be integrated in a meaningful manner that would positively affect DHS’ mission performance. 5 Based on this analysis, the research team recommends the intelligence analyst working within DHS and its components should have the basic six Core Intelligence Analysis Competencies: Analytical Writing, Communication, Critical Thinking and Reasoning Methods, Collaboration, Project Management, and Basic Technology. In addition to the Core Intelligence Analysis Core Competencies, it is desirable for the intelligence analyst to have Intelligence Fundamentals Skills – this includes familiarity with national intelligence structures and policy, intelligence cycle, and intelligence writing and analytic tools. Despite recommendations provided in both the 2010 Common Competencies for State, Local, and Tribal Intelligence Analysts document by SLT Working Group and the 2015 Analyst Professional Development Road Map, there is no still no baseline standard of competencies that define the role and function of all entry-level intelligence analysts within DHS and its components. To this day, it remains fragmented and siloed, with each component providing only in-house specialized training that is relevant to their unique mission. Echoing the calls to action by both the academic works the research team reviewed and intelligence enterprise practitioners the team interviewed, our analysis demonstrates that being able to standardize this set of competencies is critical to the DHS’s ability to provide and integrate timely intelligence and information, and not merely just a question of hiring and promoting potential job candidates. Furthermore, the team found that the development and inclusion of a standardized Core Intelligence Analyst Competency Matrix that is integrated into the DHS Performance and Learning Management System, and utilizes the Intelligence Community Centers for Academic Excellence can increase the employment pipeline and academic needs, and improve retention and merit-based advancements through educational opportunities

FKBPL and SIRT-1 Are Downregulated by Diabetes in Pregnancy Impacting on Angiogenesis and Endothelial Function

Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including preterm birth. Although the mechanisms leading to these pregnancy complications are still poorly understood, aberrant angiogenesis and endothelial dysfunction play a key role. FKBPL and SIRT-1 are critical regulators of angiogenesis, however, their roles in pregnancies affected by diabetes have not been examined before in detail. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the role of FKBPL and SIRT-1 in pre-gestational (type 1 diabetes mellitus, T1D) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Placental protein expression of important angiogenesis proteins, FKBPL, SIRT-1, PlGF and VEGF-R1, was determined from pregnant women with GDM or T1D, and in the first trimester trophoblast cells exposed to high glucose (25 mM) and varying oxygen concentrations [21%, 6.5%, 2.5% (ACH-3Ps)]. Endothelial cell function was assessed in high glucose conditions (30 mM) and following FKBPL overexpression. Placental FKBPL protein expression was downregulated in T1D (FKBPL; p<0.05) whereas PlGF/VEGF-R1 were upregulated (p<0.05); correlations adjusted for gestational age were also significant. In the presence of GDM, only SIRT-1 was significantly downregulated (p<0.05) even when adjusted for gestational age (r=-0.92, p=0.001). Both FKBPL and SIRT-1 protein expression was reduced in ACH-3P cells in high glucose conditions associated with 6.5%/2.5% oxygen concentrations compared to experimental normoxia (21%; p<0.05). FKBPL overexpression in endothelial cells (HUVECs) exacerbated reduction in tubule formation compared to empty vector control, in high glucose conditions (junctions; p<0.01, branches; p<0.05). In conclusion, FKBPL and/or SIRT-1 downregulation in response to diabetic pregnancies may have a key role in the development of vascular dysfunction and associated complications affected by impaired placental angiogenesis

Seasonal changes in runoff generation in a small forested mountain catchment

This study aimed to investigate the seasonal variability of runoff generation processes, the sources of stream water, and the controls on the contribution of event water to streamflow for a small forested catchment in the Italian pre-Alps. Hydrometric, isotopic, and electrical conductivity data collected between August 2012 and August 2013 revealed a marked seasonal variability in runoff responses. Noticeable differences in runoff coefficients and hydrological dynamics between summer and fall/spring rainfall events were related to antecedent moisture conditions and event size. Two-component and three-component hydrograph separation and end-member mixing analysis showed an increase in event water contributions to streamflow with event size and average rainfall intensity. Event water fractions were larger during dry conditions in the summer, suggesting that stormflow generation in the summer consisted predominantly of direct channel precipitation and some saturated overland flow from the riparian zone. On the contrary, groundwater and hillslope soil water contributions dominated the streamflow response during wet conditions in fall. Seasonal differences were also noted between event water fractions computed based on isotopic and electrical conductivity data, likely because of the dilution effect during the wetter months

Seasonal changes in runoff generation in a small forested mountain catchment

This study aimed to investigate the seasonal variability of runoff generation processes, the sources of stream water, and the controls on the contribution of event water to streamflow for a small forested catchment in the Italian pre-Alps. Hydrometric, isotopic, and electrical conductivity data collected between August 2012 and August 2013 revealed a marked seasonal variability in runoff responses. Noticeable differences in runoff coefficients and hydrological dynamics between summer and fall/spring rainfall events were related to antecedent moisture conditions and event size. Two-component and three-component hydrograph separation and end-member mixing analysis showed an increase in event water contributions to streamflow with event size and average rainfall intensity. Event water fractions were larger during dry conditions in the summer, suggesting that stormflow generation in the summer consisted predominantly of direct channel precipitation and some saturated overland flow from the riparian zone. On the contrary, groundwater and hillslope soil water contributions dominated the streamflow response during wet conditions in fall. Seasonal differences were also noted between event water fractions computed based on isotopic and electrical conductivity data, likely because of the dilution effect during the wetter months