Homeland Security Research Articles

The Role of Private Security Organizations in crime prevention and homeland security management in Ghana

The study was to explore the play by Private Security Organizations in crime prevention and homeland security management in Ghana. The study used a descriptive design of the qualitative of which respondents from the various management of Private Security Organizations in Accra were targeted. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select 7 participants to form part of the study. Interview guide was used at the data collection instrument. Data from interviews were analysed thematically based on the research objectives. The study found that key security services provided by the PSOs included the four functions mandated by the laws of Ghana. Also, their operations basically covers; watching and guarding services, patrolling services, and escort services. PSOs follow some form laid down procedures and principles in recruiting and selecting employees. PSOs have some collaboration with the Ghana Police Service with regards to its mandate enshrined by the constitution of Ghana to prevent crime and protect lives and properties. However, the key challenges of the PSOs are financial constraints, inadequate logistics and resources, high cost of operations, poor perception of the general public on their roles in fighting against crime as well as protecting lives and properties. Therefore, the study recommended that various PSOs should come together to form some associations that can fight for their right and welfare of their members. Also, the government of Ghana through the Ministry of Interior and the Ghana Police Service should sponsor some of their activities such as training and workshops. Moreover, the government can support them in terms of vehicles or patrol cars and fueling allowances

Interlaminar properties, ablation resistance and thermal diffusivity of Carbon/Phenolic Composites (CPCs) derived from optimized high char yield matrices: A comparison with MX-4926 and FM-5014

Carbon/Phenolic Composites (CPCs) are used to manufacture many portions of the nozzle assembly of Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) which are essential both to preserve the independent access to space as well as for the homeland security. In our research a new family of low cost, high char yield CPCs manufactured using ultra common raw materials - such as T300-like Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based Carbon Fibers (PAN­CFs) - and having high values of Inter Laminar Shear Strength (ILSS) have been identified. Nanocomposite based CPCs were also produced. The interlaminar properties, ablation resistance and thermal diffusivity of the manufactured CPCs were studied. A unique and comprehensive work of comparison with state-of-the-art CPCs such as MX-4926 and FM-5014 has also been carried out evidencing the merits of the formulations produced in our work.

Study on the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics, patterns, and driving mechanisms of ecological environment of the Ecological Security Barriers on China's Land Borders

The national ecological security barrier holds a pivotal position within the framework of the national strategy for ecological conservation and restoration. Concurrently, the border areas, as a focal point of the national homeland security strategy, have garnered considerable attention. These two concepts collectively present a profound implication for upholding national security. To this end, monitoring the ecological changes of the ecological security barriers, and exploring the driving mechanisms of such changes constitutes the foremost imperative in comprehending and advancing the national ecological security barrier theory. However, current research has yet to extend the application of ecological security barrier theory to the national scale.This paper integrates the theory of ecological security barrier with China's land border cities belt, constructing the Ecological Security Barrier of China's Land Borders (ESBCLB). Then, this paper produces a Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI) products for the early 21st century (2000–2021, 21 periods) by using Google Earth Engine (GEE). Based on pixel scale calculations and classifications, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and patterns of the ESBCLB are objectively obtained. Finally, this paper employs the Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model to explore driving mechanisms of six primary indicators, namely, economy, human activity, transportation, topography, hydrography and climate, which may have impacts on the ecological environment of the ESBCLB. Through analysis, this paper concludes that (1) On the whole, the ecological environment changes within the ESBCLB are not substantial, with regions where the ecological environment remains unchanged accounting for 73.78%. Among the regions where ecological changes have occurred, those north of the Aksu Prefecture and Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture exhibit a predominantly improved trend, while those to the south show a degraded trend. (2) Among ten evolution patterns identified based on the evolution characteristics, the primary evolution patterns for the ESBCLB are pattern of no significant change and persistence as well as pattern of no significant change and counter persistence. Apart from these, pattern of very significant better and persistence and pattern of significant better and persistence dominate the majority of cases; (3) Overall, economy, human activity, transportation, topography, hydrography, and climate exhibit spatial heterogeneity in driving mechanisms of the RSEI. Among them, human activity, topography, hydrography, and climate show positive correlations with the RSEI of the ESBCLB. While economy and transportation show negative correlations. The significance of this paper lies in that it provides a scientific basis and theoretical support for the specific application of national ecological security barrier and the study of the evolution of regional ecological environment.

Partitioning the Expected Value of Countermeasures with an Application to Terrorism

Benefit–cost analyses are critical to support U.S. agencies’ programmatic decision making. These analyses are particularly challenging when one of the benefits is adversary deterrence. This paper presents a framework for calculating the value of deterrence related to countermeasures implemented to mitigate an attack by an adaptive adversary. We offer an approach for partitioning the benefit of countermeasures into three components: (1) threat reduction (deterrence), (2) vulnerability reduction, and (3) consequence mitigation. The benefit of a countermeasure is measured by the expected value of countermeasure implementation (EVCI) attributable to a specific countermeasure. It is based on the concept of expected value of imperfect control, defined as the difference in the expected values of alternatives with and without countermeasures. The EVCI represents all the benefits of implementing the countermeasure and is derived from three sources: (1) changes in attack probability (threat reduction from deterrence), (2) changes in detection probability (vulnerability reduction), and (3) changes in the distribution of attack outcomes (consequence mitigation). We partition the EVCI and estimate the portion attributable to each of these three sources to quantify the unique benefit of each. We provide two applications of the partitioning methodology using examples from the published literature that examine countermeasures designed to protect commercial aircraft against man-portable air defense systems. The proposed framework provides an approach for explicitly accounting separately for deterrence, vulnerability reduction, and consequence mitigation in benefit–cost analyses. It provides quantifiable insights into how countermeasures reduce terrorism risk. Funding: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under [Grant Award 22STESE00001-02-00]. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This award was made to Northeastern University and the University of Southern California is a sub-awardee. This work was also supported by the National Science Foundation [Grant 2027296] awarded to Decision Research.

Human Factors Extended Reality Showcase

This alternative format session provides a forum for human factors scholars and practitioners to showcase how state-of-the-art extended reality (XR) applications are being used in academia, defense, and industry to address human factors research. The session will begin with short introductions from each presenter to describe their XR application. Afterward, session attendees will engage with the presenters and their demonstrations, which will be set up around the demonstration floor room. This year’s showcase features XR applications in STEM education, medical and aviation training, agricultural data visualization, homeland security, training design, and visitor engagement in informal learning settings. Our goal is for attendees to experience how human factors professionals use XR to support human factors-oriented research and to learn about the exciting work being conducted with these emerging technologies.

Conclusions from a needs analysis: The PIO training gap in the National Preparedness Goal.

At the national level, the field of emergency management has distinctive capabilities and responsibilities organized by the United States Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) doctrine. Key to this doctrine is the goal: a secure and resilient nation. This goal is known as the National Preparedness Goal (NPG). The NPG is supported by five missions, and these five missions are supported by 32 core capabilities. One of the core capabilities is Public Information and Warning. This core capability is so important and spans all five missions. ". . . Public information is a vital function in disaster operations that contributes greatly to saving lives and protecting property." Public information officers (PIOs) are responsible for collecting, analyzing, verifying, and communicating risk, crisis, and recovery information to a wide variety of people across the "whole community." This needs analysis conducted as a component of this paper demonstrated a need for a strategic, coordinated, and unified approach to training PIOs in the NPG. A review of employee training literature, along with the conclusions from the needs analysis and the central role the NPG plays in FEMA doctrine, revealed the value of integrating the NPG into PIO training. The purpose of this paper was to determine to what extent the NPG identifies training procedures to empower PIOs to fulfill their communication responsibilities within the NPG and to determine if current PIO training is preparing PIOs to support their NPG responsibilities. Content analysis methodology was used to determine to what extent training was described within the NPG. Cross-tabulation (Crosstab) methodology was utilized to determine coincidence between existing PIO training course learning objectives (CLOs) and the NPG. This paper may serve as a framework for aligning PIO training with the NPG. Furthermore, once completed, this paper may serve as tool to evaluate PIO training, communication planning, and post-incident after-action reports. Content analysis of the NPG revealed no description of training recommendations or training regimen for PIOs and/or emergency managers to fulfill their NPG responsibilities. Crosstab methodological data analysis revealed a 53 percent coincidence between the NPG and the PIO CLOs. The NPG is FEMA's standard for national emergency preparedness. Communication, and thus PIOs, plays a significant part in fulfilling this standard. The more PIOs can be trained in achieving the NPG communication mission, the more resilient the whole community will be when there are crises.

Principles of students’ patriotic education

Introduction. The study of current state of patriotic education of students is a socially important task: they represent a socially active group in terms of age-specific psychological characteristics and have a great potential for comprehensive development, on the one hand, while experiencing certain difficulties in self-realisation, communication, adequacy of life perception, hardships in combining study and work, on the other hand. The purpose of the work is to justify the principles of patriotic education of students. Materials and methods. The authors used scientific publications of the period 2017-2023, that highlight various aspects of patriotic education of students and cadets, as well as rely on the basic provisions of the Methodological Recommendations “Foundations of patriotic education of Russian Federation citizens”. Results. The analysis of modern theoretical and applied studies on patriotic education has shown quite a high methodological level of articles linking the concept of patriotism with patriotic culture, homeland security concept, personal values, conscious and creative fulfilment of civil and military duty, etc. Both positive and negative psychological phenomena in perceiving patriotism were observed: from the students’ evident understanding of the importance of patriotism and active involvement in patriotic work to underestimation of the role of patriotism and passivity in this sphere. It is necessary to secure objective evaluation of the patriotic sentiment as well as the creation of due conditions for its development through all resources and means of the educational organisation. Conclusion. The following principles of students’ patriotic education have been substantiated: scientific rigour, consistency, continuity, relevance, activity, integrity, creativity, regularity. The proposed approach to understanding the principles of patriotic education of students is considered as a methodological contribution to the further development of the theory and practice of patriotic education at higher school.

Analysis of Imaging Characteristics of Wide-field Lobster Eye Lens

The lobster-eye lens is a reflected type focusing optics. It can be used for backscattering imaging that is a single-sided access technology for homeland security, detection of improvised explosive devices, non-destructive testing, and medical imaging. The aim of this study was to investigate the imaging characteristic of meridional lobster-eye lens with a planar imaging surface. The larger the field of view, the greater the spherical aberration, and the larger the field curvature of the edge field of view. Both spherical aberration and field curvature increase the size of the focal spot, and the images become blurry. Rays with a large angle of grazing incidence have large spherical aberration and curvature. The reflectivity of these rays drops sharply as the energy of photons increases. Therefore, spherical aberration and field curvature have a greater effect on photons with low energy. These conclusions can help improve the design of a lobster-eye lens for wide-field imaging applications.

Ultrafast and Radiation-Hard Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocomposite Scintillators.

The use of scintillators for the detection of ionizing radiation is a critical aspect in many fields, including medicine, nuclear monitoring, and homeland security. Recently, lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (LHP-NCs) have emerged as promising scintillator materials. However, the difficulty of affordably upscaling synthesis to the multigram level and embedding NCs in optical-grade nanocomposites without compromising their optical properties still limits their widespread use. In addition, fundamental aspects of the scintillation mechanisms are not fully understood, leaving the scientific community without suitable fabrication protocols and rational guidelines for the full exploitation of their potential. In this work, we realize large polyacrylate nanocomposite scintillators based on CsPbBr3 NCs, which are synthesized via a novel room temperature, low waste turbo-emulsification approach, followed by their in situ transformation during the mass polymerization process. The interaction between NCs and polymer chains strengthens the scintillator structure, homogenizes the particle size distribution and passivates NC defects, resulting in nanocomposite prototypes with luminescence efficiency >90%, exceptional radiation hardness, 4800 ph/MeV scintillation yield even at low NC loading, and ultrafast response time, with over 30% of scintillation occurring in the first 80 ps, promising for fast-time applications in precision medicine and high-energy physics. Ultrafast radioluminescence and optical spectroscopy experiments using pulsed synchrotron light further disambiguate the origin of the scintillation kinetics as the result of charged-exciton and multiexciton recombination formed under ionizing excitation. This highlights the role of nonradiative Auger decay, whose potential impact on fast timing applications we anticipate via a kinetic model.

Climate change and homeland security nexus: Proposal for a comprehensive conceptual framework

Climate change is a significant security concern in the 21st century. This study is specifically focused on the interplay between climate change and domestic security within the U.S. context but is of relevance to other countries that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. The study comparatively explores mainstream environmental security literature and U.S. homeland security academic literature on climate-security nexus and establishes three things as follows. First, there is a relatively small but growing body of literature that explores the nexus between climate change and U.S. homeland security. Second, contemporary homeland security academic literature primarily frames climate change as a threat multiplier but does not account for maladaptation, which this article argues is a key aspect of the climate-security nexus including within the U.S. context. Third, maladaptation is already increasingly being accounted for within mainstream environmental security literature in addition to the threat multiplier aspect of the nexus. The article advances knowledge on climate-security nexus within homeland security field by proposing a comprehensive conceptual framework that would enable U.S. homeland security academics to account for both threat multiplier and maladaptation aspects of the climate change problem in their analysis. The article concludes with recommendations for future research.

Composition optimization and performance prediction for ultra-stable water-based aerosol based on thermodynamic entropy theory

Water-based aerosol is widely used as an effective strategy in electro-optical countermeasure on the battlefield used to the preponderance of high efficiency, low cost and eco-friendly. Unfortunately, the stability of the water-based aerosol is always unsatisfactory due to the rapid evaporation and sedimentation of the aerosol droplets. Great efforts have been devoted to improve the stability of water-based aerosol by using additives with different composition and proportion. However, the lack of the criterion and principle for screening the effective additives results in excessive experimental time consumption and cost. And the stabilization time of the aerosol is still only 30 min, which could not meet the requirements of the perdurable interference. Herein, to improve the stability of water-based aerosol and optimize the complex formulation efficiently, a theoretical calculation method based on thermodynamic entropy theory is proposed. All the factors that influence the shielding effect, including polyol, stabilizer, propellant, water and cosolvent, are considered within calculation. An ultra-stable water-based aerosol with long duration over 120 min is obtained with the optimal fogging agent composition, providing enough time for fighting the electro-optic weapon. Theoretical design guideline for choosing the additives with high phase transition temperature and low phase transition enthalpy is also proposed, which greatly improves the total entropy change and reduce the absolute entropy change of the aerosol cooling process, and gives rise to an enhanced stability of the water-based aerosol. The theoretical calculation methodology contributes to an abstemious time and space for sieving the water-based aerosol with desirable performance and stability, and provides the powerful guarantee to the homeland security.

An Examination of the Role of Perpetrator’s Relationship to Overall School Shooting Casualties

High-profile school shootings in recent years have fueled fear and uncertainty among stakeholders (e.g., parents, teachers, and students) and the public debate on gun control legislation nationwide. These fears are reflected in the public discourse and the academic community, which focuses their investigation on rampage school shootings. To address this gap in the empirical literature, the current study’s goal is twofold: (1) to contribute to the descriptive understanding of school shooting characteristics; and (2) address the gaps in the extant literature through examining the perpetrators relationship with the school on the total number of victims during a school shooting incident. Secondary data analysis was performed on the K-12 School Shooting database (K-12 SSDB). A negative binomial and descriptive analysis were conducted on the K-12 School Shooting database, established by the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) in 2018, which has been recently updated to reflect recent incidents. The findings and policy implications of the findings are discussed in detail in the manuscript.

Indigenous sovereignty and Tohono O’odham efforts to impact U.S.-Mexico border security

ABSTRACT As national demands for security came to override the concerns of border communities more decisively in recent decades, local input in areas such as land use, the environment, and civil rights has been concomitantly diminished. Under the George W. Bush Administration in the U.S. this trend culminated in congressional authorization for and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) execution of legal waivers to push through the construction of new border barriers. Ultimately, DHS voluntarily complied with many components of the waived laws. Still, by exercising Indigenous sovereignty, the Tohono O’odham Nation of southern Arizona pushed back against these waivers to require compliance with laws that had been dismissed. In the Trump era, additional and upgraded border barriers bypassed the Tohono O’odham Nation, but construction took place on nearby traditional territory, illustrating the enduring if tentative role of Indigenous sovereignty in this context. As a cross-border group, the Tohono O’odham are concerned about both the dramatic increase of external policing on their lands and the erosion of contact with tribal members in Mexico, which from an Indigenous perspective is increasingly difficult to traverse and manage.

Methodological Approach for Developing Legal Frameworks to Protect Land Relations in Homeland Security

Methodological Approach for Developing Legal Frameworks to Protect Land Relations in Homeland Security

Global Health Governance: The Case of the Biopolitics of Covid-19 Vaccine Nationalism

In April 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), GAVI, and the Vaccine Alliances officially launched COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) as a policy to facilitate equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for low-to-middle-income countries. The initiative has 184 member countries and supplies vaccines to 140 countries. By August 2021, COVAX will have provided 200 million vaccine doses instead of the 600 million doses initially proposed. The shortfall of vaccine doses through the mechanism of COVAX is not only because of production shortage but also partly due to vaccine nationalism by more high-income countries (HIC), where they secure vaccine stocks for their population. Such a phenomenon has made the Global South countries vulnerable as they have no facilities for vaccine production except India. Vaccine nationalism can be better seen from two spheres, biopolitics, and geopolitics. Previous researches on geopolitics and infectious disease are still rare. Thus, this research hopes to fill this gap. The two terms imply that vaccine nationalism involves the creation of borders and separating things and people. In other words, a particular spatial dynamic of exclusion divides the world, as manifested by an inadequate distribution of the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines between the North and the South. This research intends to analyze vaccine nationalism that causes the discrepancy in vaccine distribution between the North and the South countries from the theoretical perspectives of biopolitics and geopolitics. This research employs a case study of vaccine nationalism from 2020 to 2021. It is argued that vaccine nationalism is further divided between the North and South and the division between homeland security and world security.

Sequential Deployment of Mobile Radiation Sensor Network Using Reinforcement Learning in Radioactive Source Search

Ever since the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, prevention of nuclear terrorist attacks in urban environments has been a major focus for homeland security. To that end, mobile radiation sensor networks that are deployed within a specific area to acquire consecutive measurements are a first line of defense against the illicit movement of nuclear threats. However, sensor network deployment is a complex process imposed on physical and financial constraints and dynamically varying conditions. In this work, reinforcement learning (RL) is applied to control the sequential deployment of a mobile radiation sensor network within a specific geographic area. RL is utilized for dynamically learning of the environment and subsequent decision making on the optimal position of the network sensors driven by shared mutual information. RL has the benefit of allowing the network to learn and update a deployment strategy online from an initially unknown state. The performance of the RL method is demonstrated through self-contained exploration and interaction between sensors in a source search scenario for detecting a radioactive source with a set of mobile detectors within the space of the University of Texas at San Antonio campus. Results exhibit the efficiency and efficacy of (a-sequential) RL in comparison to the sequential placement of the mobile sensors, showcasing optimality in accuracy and efficiency in source detection.

Novel molecular laser-induced photoluminscence signature with hyperspectral imaging for instant and remote detection of trace explosive materials

Instant detection of explosive material is highly appreciated for counterterrorism activity and homeland security. Nitro group (high energy rich bond) is responsible for explosive characteristics. Nitro group includes intense competition between two highly electronegative atoms. Nitro group is frequently encountered in all explosive materials. This function group includes delocalized π bond; that could secure intense photoluminescence (fluorescence and phosphorescence) signature. In this study, the main classes of explosive materials including nitro-compounds (i.e. TNT), nitramines (i.e. RDX), and nitric esters (i.e. PETN) were stimulated with green laser source of 532 nm and 5 mW power. The photoluminescence signature of each tested material was captured via hyperspectral camera. The tested explosives demonstrated characteristic fluorescence signature at 571, 587, and 613 nm for RDX, PETN, and TNT respectively. Furthermore, TNT demonstrated characteristic phosphorescence signature at 975 nm. The customized laser induced photoluminescence technique offered facile detection of trace explosive material via clustering approach based on K-m clustering (k = 8); this technique was able to detect RDX, PETN and TNT traces on the finger nail via processed hyperspectral images at 581 nm, 797 nm and 953 nm, respectively. This study shaded the light on novel customized photoluminescence technique for facile detection and identification of trace explosive materials.

A federated learning based approach for predicting landslide displacement considering data security

Homeland security is an important concern in contemporary society. National mega strategic engineering areas and other key regions, characterized by the presence of high mountains and valleys, are prone to various geological hazards, including landslides. Therefore, the timely geological hazard prediction and forecasting are required, and local data security protection is also crucial. To address the aforementioned problems, a landslide displacement prediction method based on federated learning which can protect data security is proposed in this paper and validated in the Three Gorges Project area. The essential idea is to employ the federated learning approach to enable the joint training of deep learning models for landslide displacement prediction without exchanging data. The proposed method (1) trains each landslide displacement prediction model locally without data exchange, ensuring geospatial data security, and (2) improves the accuracy of landslide displacement prediction in most cases, protecting people’s lives and properties. The proposed method has the potential to improve the prediction and forecasting of geological hazards in other key areas, thereby protecting people’s lives and properties while ensuring national homeland security.

A STEM Penalty from Affirmative Action Bans?

The study investigates a tension between affirmative action scholars who hypothesize that affirmative action bans would increase underrepresented minority students’ STEM college completions and scholars who have empirically estimated declines. It also questions results that that find no existence of a STEM penalty (compared to non-STEM) caused by affirmative action bans and finds that a STEM penalty is likely, but varies from a very modest effect (using the Department of Homeland Security taxonomy) to a more substantial impact (using the National Science Foundation taxonomy). This study finds that many of the tensions between affirmative action scholars studying STEM are likely the product of model specification. It illustrates how the following have impacted the estimates: the period studied, the inclusion and exclusion of certain ban states, the measure of institutional selectivity, and most importantly, the taxonomy of STEM. Furthermore, this study builds upon prior studies by analyzing private schools and the shorter-term and longer-term impacts of the bans.

Critiquing the U.S. characterization, attribution and retaliation laws and policies for cyberattacks

This paper critiques the U.S. characterization, attribution, and retaliation laws and policies for cyberattacks. Characterization, attribution, and retaliation are part of the most important aspects of responding to cyberattacks. The U.S. does not have a clearly defined characterization process, other than the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Threat Table which characterizes the different motivations for carrying out cyberattacks by cyber threat actors. This Threat Table has hardly changed since 2005, yet, cyber threat actors continually develop their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and conceal their real motivations for carrying out cyberattacks. Like characterization, the U.S. does not have a known attribution procedure, nor is a single agency tasked with the function of attribution. Different agencies – the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) – and even private sectors companies, participate in the attribution process. This invites potential contradiction and interference with the attribution process. Though, unlike characterization and attribution, the U.S. retaliation policies are contained in different documents, none has the preciseness required to be effective. This paper thus, makes recommendations for each of these aspects of cyberattack response.