EXPLORATION IN INTELLIGENCE ANALYSISe are interested in the role of exploratory search in the intelligence analysis process, especially its role in sensemaking: how can exploring a set of information help an analyst to synthesize, understand, and present a coherent explanation of what it tells us about the world?The process of exploratory search can help an analyst develop a story implied by relationships among discovered information items. One of the key challenges in supporting this process is the representation, depiction, and recording of insights-the basic elements of analysis. We have developed a simple concept for such representations, called "rich information collections," which contain not just the analyst's search results but also an executable collection specification by which similar information can be
Operating robotic space missions via time-based command sequences has become a limiting factor in the exploration, defense, and commercial sectors. Command sequencing was originally designed for comparatively simple and predictable missions, with safe-mode responses for most faults. This approach has been increasingly strained to accommodate today's more complex missions, which require advanced capabilities like autonomous fault diagnosis and response, vehicle mobility with hazard avoidance, opportunistic science observations, etc. Goal-based operation changes the fundamental basis of operations from imperative command sequences to declarative specifications of operational intent, termed goals. Execution based on explicit intent simplifies operator workload by focusing on what to do rather than how to do it. The move toward goal-based operations, which has already begun in some space missions, involves changes and opportunities in several places: operational processes and tools, human interface design, planning and scheduling, control architecture, fault protection, and verification and validation. Further, the need for future interoperation among multiple goal-based systems suggests that attention be given to areas for standardization. This overview paper defines the concept of goal-based operations, reviews a history of steps in this direction, and discusses the areas of change and opportunity through comparison with the prevalent operational paradigm of command sequencing.
Cyber defense requires decision making under uncertainty, yet this critical area has not been a focus of research in judgment and decision-making. Future defense systems, which will rely on software-defined networks and may employ “moving target” defenses, will increasingly automate lower level detection and analysis, but will still require humans in the loop for higher level judgment. We studied the decision making process and outcomes of 17 experienced network defense professionals who worked through a set of realistic network defense scenarios. We manipulated gain versus loss framing in a cyber defense scenario, and found significant effects in one of two focal problems. Defenders that began with a network already in quarantine (gain framing) used a quarantine system more, as measured by cost, than those that did not (loss framing). We also found some difference in perceived workload and efficacy. Alternate explanations of these findings and implications for network defense are discussed.
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