Greater Situational Awareness Research Articles

A Review on C3I Systems’ Security: Vulnerabilities, Attacks, and Countermeasures

Command, Control, Communication, and Intelligence (C3I) systems are increasingly used in critical civil and military domains for achieving information superiority, operational efficacy, and greater situational awareness. The critical civil and military domains include, but are not limited to, battlefield, healthcare, transportation, and rescue missions. Given the sensitive nature and modernization of tactical domains, the security of C3I systems has recently become a critical concern. This is because cyber-attacks on C3I systems have catastrophic consequences including loss of human lives. Despite the increasing number of cyber-attacks on C3I systems and growing concerns about C3I systems’ security, there is a paucity of a comprehensive review to systematize the body of knowledge on the security of C3I systems. Therefore, in this article, we have gathered, analyzed, and synthesized the body of knowledge on the security of C3I systems. We have identified and reported security vulnerabilities, attack vectors, and countermeasures/defenses for C3I systems. In particular, this article has enabled us to (i) propose a taxonomy for security vulnerabilities, attack vectors, and countermeasures; (ii) interrelate attack vectors with security vulnerabilities and countermeasures; and (iii) propose future research directions for advancing the state-of-the-art on the security of C3I systems. We believe that our findings will serve as a guideline for practitioners and researchers to advance the state-of-the-practice and state-of-the-art on the security of C3I systems.

Modern Warfare, Spiritual Health, and the Role of Artificial Intelligence

Modern warfare utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) combined with remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) to enhance battlefield strategy and create advantages against adversaries. Military drones extend the range of combat, which limits risks, thereby minimizing casualties and loss of human life. With onboard AI systems, drones provide more data and facilitate rapid decision-making for greater situational awareness during conflicts. Military leaders also theorize that remote missions would be physically, emotionally, and psychologically easier for drone pilots, thus reducing mental health issues that plague fighter pilots. However, the intersection of AI with military drones creates unique situations of stress and trauma. RPA personnel manifest symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that adversely affect their spiritual health and well-being.

Human–Robot Collaboration in Smart Manufacturing: Robot Reactive Behavior Intelligence

Abstract To enable safe and effective human–robot collaboration (HRC) in smart manufacturing, seamless integration of sensing, cognition, and prediction into the robot controller is critical for real-time awareness, response, and communication inside a heterogeneous environment (robots, humans, and equipment). The specific research objective is to provide the robot Proactive Adaptive Collaboration Intelligence (PACI) and switching logic within its control architecture in order to give the robot the ability to optimally and dynamically adapt its motions, given a priori knowledge and predefined execution plans for its assigned tasks. The challenge lies in augmenting the robot’s decision-making process to have greater situation awareness and to yield smart robot behaviors/reactions when subject to different levels of human–robot interaction, while maintaining safety and production efficiency. Robot reactive behaviors were achieved via cost function-based switching logic activating the best suited high-level controller. The PACI’s underlying segmentation and switching logic framework is demonstrated to yield a high degree of modularity and flexibility. The performance of the developed control structure subjected to different levels of human–robot interactions was validated in a simulated environment. Open-loop commands were sent to the physical e.DO robot to demonstrate how the proposed framework would behave in a real application.

Mindfulness in organizations (Part 2): a practitioners’ guide to applying mindfulness-based approaches in leadership development, workplace wellbeing and coaching

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the application of mindfulness in organizational development and provide a useful guide for practitioners in their work as managers, consultants and coaches.Design/methodology/approachThe paper offers practical applications of mindfulness in organizations, specifically its use in leadership development, organizational wellbeing and coaching.FindingsThe paper notes a variety of ways in which mindfulness can be applied. While it recognizes that the research into the application of mindfulness at work is under developed, it suggests that through applied organizational research our understanding of its value to employees and organizations can be enhanced.Practical implicationsThe paper provides insights drawn from practice that can be applied by HR practitioners or consultants addressing modern organizational challenges from workplace stress to developing leaders with greater situational awareness and empathy.Originality/valueThe paper is distinctive in providing a strong practitioners focus and from broadening the inquiry from the individual toward considering organizational benefits that may be obtained from workplace mindfulness programs.

Ambulatory Clinic Exam Room Design with respect to Computing Devices: A Laboratory Simulation Study

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS When comparing a typical exam room layout to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA's) new exam room design, with respect to the exam room computing, primary care providers experienced significantly less mental workload and greater situation awareness when using the new exam room design. Further, providers rated the new exam room layout significantly higher in terms of being integrated with their clinical workflow and spent significantly more time in screen sharing activities with the patient. A more thoughtful design of the exam room layout with respect to the placement and physical design of the computing set-up may reduce provider cognitive effort and enhance aspects of patient centeredness by viewing the computer and electronic health record (EHR) it displays as an important mediator between provider and patient. This was achieved by using an all-in-one computer attached to a wall mount that moves the monitor along three axes, allowing for optimal screen positioning and adjustable depending upon the scenario.TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Challenges persist regarding how to integrate computing effectively into the exam room, while maintaining patient-centered care. Purpose: Our objective was to evaluate a new exam room design with respect to the computing layout, which included a wall-mounted monitor for ease of (re)-positioning. Methods: In a lab-based experiment, 28 providers used prototypes of the new and older “legacy” outpatient exam room layouts in a within-subject comparison using simulated patient encounters. We measured efficiency, errors, workload, patient-centeredness (proportion of time the provider was focused on the patient), amount of screen sharing with the patient, workflow integration, and provider situation awareness. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the exam room layouts for efficiency, errors, or time spent focused on the patient. However, when using the new layout providers spent 75% more time in screen sharing activities with the patient, had 31% lower workload, and gave higher ratings for situation awareness (14%) and workflow integration (17%). Conclusions: Providers seemed to be unwilling to compromise their focus on the patient when the computer was in a fixed position in the corner of the room and, as a result, experienced greater workload, lower situation awareness, and poorer workflow integration when using the old “legacy” layout. A thoughtful design of the exam room with respect to the computing may positively impact providers' workload, situation awareness, time spent in screen sharing activities, and workflow integration.

Pilot CEOs and Corporate Cash Holdings

We examine the effect of situation awareness developed from aviation training and experiences on corporate cash policies. We find that firms led by pilot CEOs are more likely to have higher cash holdings and higher market value of cash holdings. The findings suggest that pilot CEOs have greater situation awareness, and that these CEOs are more likely to plan ahead to cope with future liquidity needs. In additional tests, we find the level of pilot certification is associated with corporate cash holdings and the value of cash holdings. These findings provide further evidence that situation awareness can be developed through training and aviation experience. We also find that the effect of pilot CEOs on corporate cash holdings is more pronounced for firms with high growth opportunities and firms with financial constraints. These results indicate that pilot CEOs tend to hold more cash when they are aware of future opportunities and risks.

Lessons learnt from Australian Defence Force trial of live physiological monitoring to improve soldier performance in both training and operational scenarios

Introduction: Currently, in the training environment, Defence personnel undergoing strenuous activities or activities involving the use of restrictive (individual protective equipment) apparel, are governed by the work/rest tables which provide non-specific application of activity level against ambient temperature (wet bulb globe temperature) for the average Defence member. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of a biometric or physiological sensor when combined with a real time delivery system, over distance (radio frequency to 1.5 km) to enhance directing staff/commanders decision making ability through greater situational awareness in the form of physiological status monitoring to provide, specific to individual, real time data minimising the risk of injury and heat related conditions and providing a more robust duty of care framework.

Using agent transparency to support situation awareness of the Autonomous Squad Member

Agent transparency has been proposed as a solution to the problem of facilitating operators’ situation awareness in human-robot teams. Sixty participants performed a dual monitoring task, monitoring both an intelligent, autonomous robot teammate and performing threat detection in a virtual environment. The robot displayed four different interfaces, corresponding to information from the Situation awareness-based Agent Transparency (SAT) model. Participants’ situation awareness of the robot, confidence in their situation awareness, trust in the robot, workload, cognitive processing, and perceived usability of the robot displays were assessed. Results indicate that participants using interfaces corresponding to higher SAT level had greater situation awareness, cognitive processing, and trust in the robot than when they viewed lower level SAT interfaces. No differences in workload or perceived usability of the display were detected. Based on these findings, we observed that transparency has a significant effect on situation awareness, trust, and cognitive processing.

Twitter Influenza Surveillance: Quantifying Seasonal Misdiagnosis Patterns and their Impact on Surveillance Estimates.

BackgroundInfluenza (flu) surveillance using Twitter data can potentially save lives and increase efficiency by providing governments and healthcare organizations with greater situational awareness. However, research is needed to determine the impact of Twitter users’ misdiagnoses on surveillance estimates.ObjectiveThis study establishes the importance of Twitter users’ misdiagnoses by showing that Twitter flu surveillance in the United States failed during the 2011-2012 flu season, estimates the extent of misdiagnoses, and tests several methods for reducing the adverse effects of misdiagnoses.MethodsMetrics representing flu prevalence, seasonal misdiagnosis patterns, diagnosis uncertainty, flu symptoms, and noise were produced using Twitter data in conjunction with OpenSextant for geo-inferencing, and a maximum entropy classifier for identifying tweets related to illness. These metrics were tested for correlations with World Health Organization (WHO) positive specimen counts of flu from 2011 to 2014.ResultsTwitter flu surveillance erroneously indicated a typical flu season during 2011-2012, even though the flu season peaked three months late, and erroneously indicated plateaus of flu tweets before the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 flu seasons. Enhancements based on estimates of misdiagnoses removed the erroneous plateaus and increased the Pearson correlation coefficients by .04 and .23, but failed to correct the 2011-2012 flu season estimate. A rough estimate indicates that approximately 40% of flu tweets reflected misdiagnoses.ConclusionsFurther research into factors affecting Twitter users’ misdiagnoses, in conjunction with data from additional atypical flu seasons, is needed to enable Twitter flu surveillance systems to produce reliable estimates during atypical flu seasons.

Identifying and Quantifying Critical Information Streams for Tactical Combat Decision Modeling

It is often asserted that more information on the battlefield leads to greater situational awareness (SA) which, in turn, translates to enhanced mission performance and outcomes. However, the volume of available information on the modern networked battlefield is extensive and growing, which induces risk of indecision due to cognitive overload. The potential overload highlights the need to streamline the flow of information to those critical streams that provide the most value to a tactical leader’s decision process at particular points in time. The purpose of this study is to identify critical information streams required by tactical leaders within the various phases of a dismounted search and attack/react to contact scenario. Domain Mapping Matrix methodology (DMM) is utilized to quantify the value of various information streams relative to the sub -phases within the scenario using a constructed nominal scale. The significance of the highlighted interactions is validated through the use of statistical analysis, with combat veterans serving as test cases. The findings of this study will facilitate the development of decision models that will eventually enable more accurate and realistic simulation of the leader’s decision processes that increased SA purportedly enhances.

Mission Command in the Age of Network-Enabled Operations: Social Network Analysis of Information Sharing and Situation Awareness.

A common assumption in organizations is that information sharing improves situation awareness and ultimately organizational effectiveness. The sheer volume and rapid pace of information and communications received and readily accessible through computer networks, however, can overwhelm individuals, resulting in data overload from a combination of diverse data sources, multiple data formats, and large data volumes. The current conceptual framework of network enabled operations (NEO) posits that robust networking and information sharing act as a positive feedback loop resulting in greater situation awareness and mission effectiveness in military operations (Alberts and Garstka, 2004). We test this assumption in a large-scale, 2-week military training exercise. We conducted a social network analysis of email communications among the multi-echelon Mission Command staff (one Division and two sub-ordinate Brigades) and assessed the situational awareness of every individual. Results from our exponential random graph models challenge the aforementioned assumption, as increased email output was associated with lower individual situation awareness. It emerged that higher situation awareness was associated with a lower probability of out-ties, so that broadly sending many messages decreased the likelihood of attaining situation awareness. This challenges the hypothesis that increased information sharing improves situation awareness, at least for those doing the bulk of the sharing. In addition, we observed two trends that reflect a compartmentalizing of networked information sharing as email links were more commonly formed among members of the command staff with both similar functions and levels of situation awareness, than between two individuals with dissimilar functions and levels of situation awareness; both those findings can be interpreted to reflect effects of homophily. Our results have major implications that challenge the current conceptual framework of NEO. In addition, the information sharing network was largely imbalanced and dominated by a few key individuals so that most individuals in the network have very few email connections, but a small number of individuals have very many connections. These results highlight several major growing pains for networked organizations and military organizations in particular.

A diagrammatic framework for intuitive human robot interaction

This paper presents our framework for human robot interaction. The framework has been designed to allow non- experts to control and program complex robots in an intuitive way that is both reliable and accurate. The principle mechanism behind our model is Augmented Reality (AR), we use this to provide a diagrammatic service to the user, the service uses a range of diagrammatic markers including marker-less AR objects, which can be created and connected together and used to command and control the robot and engage in two way communications. We report on two case studies where our framework is applied to a set of command and control tasks, we measure performance across situation-awareness, task-completion-time and cognitive-load. Our results show that our model leads to greater situational awareness and improved task completion times, when compared to conventional interaction methods, such as a gamepad controller. Future work will integrate our model into multi-modal hybrids and extend the case studies to compare against other interaction methods.

Demonstration of a Network-Centric Communication Management Suite: Multi-Modal Communication

The Multi-Modal Communication (MMC) is a network-centric communication management suite developed to improve communication performance for Command and Control operators. This tool provides operators with the ability to manage communication from voice and text-based systems in a single intuitive, dynamic display. MMC captures, records, and displays radio and chat communications to the operator so that they have instant access and full control over all current and past information. In addition to aiding in the retrieval of information, speech intelligibility over the Radio channels is increased by spatially separating each of the radio channels to virtual locations around the operator via their headphones. The combination of these features provides operators with the tools necessary to monitor multiple communication channels for critical information and make quick and accurate decisions since it affords operators with greater situational awareness while also reducing their perceived mental workload.

Designing Energy Display Formats for Civil Aircraft: Reply to Amelink, Mulder, van Paassen, and Flach

Abstract In their recent article on total energy-based flight-path displays, Amelink, Mulder, van Paassen, and Flach (2005) quite rightly pointed out that energy issues are covered in descriptions of the piloting task, which tend to be based on the machine's behavior, rather than the system's functions and their relation to the goals to be achieved. Taking a more holistic approach, referred to by Amelink et al. as ecological interface design, will lead to greater pilot situation awareness, flight safety, and efficiency. We have addressed this in our work on designing energy display formats for civil aircraft, and would like to add to the work of Amelink et al. in a reply to their article.

Eyeglance Behavior of Novice Teen and Experienced Adult Drivers

Eyeglance behavior and scanning patterns may be learned as a driver gains experience and lead to greater situation awareness on the part of the driver. This may help to explain differences observed in the safety records of novice teen and experienced adult drivers. For example, new drivers may focus almost exclusively on the road ahead and spend little time scanning the vehicle's mirrors. However, a novice driver performing a secondary task may spend more time with his or her eyes on the task than on the road, because of unfamiliarity with the vehicle or inexperience with consequences of long glances away from the forward view. For this study, 18 novice teen (under 17.5 years old and within 4 weeks of licensure) and 18 experienced adult drivers performed a set of in-vehicle tasks on a test track. A baseline driving segment was also included. Measures consisted of percentage of eyes-off-road (EOR) time, number of glances, and mean single-glance time. Results showed that teens glanced at the rearview mirror...

Enhancing Perceived Situation Awareness and Reducing Perceived Workload with a Likelihood Alarm Display

The researchers investigated the effects of a likelihood alarm display (LAD) on perceptions of workload and situation awareness (SA) during varying degrees of taskload. Twenty-four psychology students reacted to alarms while performing a complex primary task. The researchers examined participants performances during four experimental sessions. Two conditions of alarm display (binary and likelihood) and task load (low and high) were manipulated within groups. In addition, alarm display order (binary first or likelihood first) and task load order (low first or high first) were examined between groups. Results showed greater SA and reduced workload when participants used a likelihood alarm display and when they experienced low task load. Significant order effects also occurred. This study demonstrated the positive effects of a likelihood alarm display on perceptions of workload and SA, and suggests that LAD use may reduce workload and enhance SA.

Improving Situation Awareness through Cross-Training

This study investigated how cross-training, particularly in a leadership role, may assist individuals in better understanding the task requirements of their fellow team members, and, thereby, increase their shared situation awareness. Data was collected from a training exercise at the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency. Participants were assigned to one of 4 teams (Navy, Army, Special Ops, or Joint Service) and completed a simulated exercise designed to mimic real life events in a recovery center. Each player was rotated though the various positions and teams such that everyone had a chance to be a team director (lead person) and a team member in each of the 4 teams. Situation awareness was measured during the exercise using the SAGAT technique. Overall, results suggest that cross-training may lead to improved situation awareness. Participants, on average, exhibited greater situation awareness following experience in the director role than prior to director experience.