Showing papers by "Swedish National Defence College published in 2007"

Using AI and games for decision support in command and control

Abstract: Developers of tomorrow's command and control centers are facing numerous problems related to the vast amount of available information obtained from various sources. On a lower level, huge amounts of uncertain reports from different sensors need to be fused into comprehensible information. On a higher level, representation and management of the aggregated information will be the main task, with prediction of future course of events being the uttermost goal. Unfortunately, traditional agent modeling techniques do not capture situations where commanders make decisions based on other commanders' reasoning about one's own reasoning. To cope with this problem, we propose a decision support tool for command and control situation awareness enhancements based on game theory for inference and coupled with traditional AI methods for uncertainty modeling.

Suicide Rate among Former Swedish Peacekeeping Personnel

Abstract: Increased suicide rates for military personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders have been reported in various countries. Although it is known that some peacekeepers are exposed to pot ...

Balancing Three Different Foci in the Design of Serious Games: Engagement, Training Objective and Context

Abstract: Serious games aim to be both fun and playable games but at the same time be useful for a non-entertainment purpose. This poses an interesting challenge to the design process; how can we ensure that the design allows both for fun and engagement while at the same time fulfilling the nonentertainment purpose? The game design for educational games (a branch of serious games) is dependent on the topic (training objective) and under what circumstances the game will be used. We propose a pragmatic design approach where three design goals are maintained simultaneously: (1) to create an engaging game, (2) to properly cater for the training objective, and (3) to allow the training context surrounding the game to influence design decisions. We will go through a range of design issues and show how the three design goals are interdependent and how a balanced design can fulfill all three. For instance, the training objective may impede a straightforward design of rules and goals. The training context will have an affect how the challenges are constructed and the way learning through games can be carried out. To illustrate this approach the design process of Foreign Ground, a serious game for training, is presented and discussed. Author Keywords Serious games, educational games, design, engagement

Securing Lebanon from the Threat of Salafist Jihadism

Abstract: This article essentially seeks to examine the history and dynamics of salafist jihadism in Lebanon, explain its causes, investigate its impact on Lebanese domestic security, and explore its future trajectory. The article also puts forward a range of policy prescriptions that could help the Lebanese state effectively reduce and ultimately eliminate the threat of local salafist jihadism.

Sir Julian Corbett and the Theoretical Study of War

Abstract: This article deals with the specific views of the British naval historian Sir Julian Corbett (1854–1922) on the theoretical study of war, i.e. his theory on theory. What were Corbett's main ideas and how do they compare with those of Carl von Clausewitz and Antoine-Henri Jomini? To what extent are Corbett's ideas original? The conclusions reached are that, first, the intellectual kinship between Corbett and Clausewitz is especially pronounced in this aspect of military theory. Second, the intellectual affinity between Corbett's and Jomini's views on the theoretical study of war is indeed negligible. Finally, it is argued that Corbett presents only one original idea regarding the theoretical study of war and that this idea is problematic.

War without End(s): The End of Clausewitz?

Abstract: This article argues that both anti- and pro-Clausewitzians have tended to base their views on an incomplete understanding of Clausewitz. We claim that the so-called ‘new wars’ do not require a new analytical paradigm, as is suggested by anti-Clausewitzians like Martin van Creveld and John Keegan. But this does not mean that the prevailing pro-Clausewitzian discourse cannot be challenged. Clausewitz, as is well-known, employed a dialectical method of arguing in extremes. But whereas we suggest that Clausewitz sought to situate actual war between extremes, the modern discourses share the mistake of seeing the extremes as incompatible alternatives. We argue that a deeper understanding of Clausewitz's theory, and in particular his views on the state, on policy and politics, as well as on his so-called ‘trinity’ of competing forces of war, provides a framework for analysis that is still valid. This also implies that the attempt to replace Clausewitz with another classical thinker, Sun Tzu, may not be necessary...

Indirect leadership: a quantitative test of a qualitatively developed model

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the applicability of a previously developed model of indirect leadership (qualitative Grounded Theory case study) in a broader military context.Des ...

Putin’s Attempts to Subjugate Georgia: From Sabre-Rattling to the Power of the Purse

Abstract: Since the demise of the USSR, the South Caucasus has been the most unstable part of Russia’s immediate neighbourhood, and Georgia has been the most unstable of the ‘weak states’ in that neighbourhood.1 As a result, ‘hard security’ issues are intrinsically linked with ‘softer’ security issues, all of which tend to be linked to the chase for hydrocarbon resources in the Caspian/Caucasus area.

Achieving what cannot be done: coping with the time constants in a dynamic decision task by doing something else.

Abstract: This study examines how people handle the time constants in dynamic decision tasks, using a microworld called NEWFIRE which simulates forest fire fighting. The results showed that the participants did not adapt to the time constants, as shown by the fact that they did not discriminate between fires requiring different number of fire fighting units when varying the number of fire fighting units was a means of compensating for the time constants. If they were allowed to move units before the fire started their performance improved, suggesting that they could compensate for their problems with the time constants by restructuring the task in such a way that they did not need to consider them. It is suggested that such restructuring may well be how people handle dynamic tasks also in other circumstances, and that more effort should be put into studying what people actually do in dynamic tasks, rather than into only assessing whether or not they perform optimally.

Translating EU civil protection in the Nordic states – towards a theoretical understanding of the creation of European crisis management capacities.

Abstract: This paper analyses how EU civil protection is translated (both in a linguistic/conceptual sense and in an organisational sense) in the Nordic states. The analysis builds on interviews with civil servants and illustrates how European crisis management capacities are created. Doing so it also contributes to the debate about Europeanization and how it can be studied. The paper shows that the creation of European crisis management capacities (in a wide sense) leads to Europeanization, which involves a translation process where linguistic/conceptual translation and organisational change are intertwined, and where differing national traditions affect the process.

Case-Studies of Decision Support Models for Collaboration in Tactical Mobile Environments

Abstract: : The paper addresses experimental studies of decision support models for collaboration in tactical network-centric operations. This project, supported by partners from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory "LLNL", US Special Operations Command "SOCOM", Swedish Armed Forces, Austria, and Singapore. Naval Postgraduate Schools "NPS" Tactical Network Topology "TNT" is the base for the testbed, comprised of long-haul OFDM networks combined with self-forming wireless mesh links to unmanned aerial vehicles "UAVs", radiation detection sensors, and geographically distributed experts. The case-study conducted by the NPS student team during the Summer of 2006 included Maritime Interdiction Operation "MIO", High-Value Target "HVT" tracking, and Emergency Response coordination scenarios, in which geographically distributed command centers and subject matter experts collaborate to facilitate situational understanding and course of action selection. During the study NPS students observed communication processes of geographically distributed teams and were able to position collaborative process in the decision making space of Simon's problem solving model, Boyd's OODA Loop, and Alberts and Hayes' Collaboration Significant Influences model. The results show high fidelity of Alberts and Hayes' Collaboration Significant Influences model and reveal the requirements to collaborative network topology as well as multi participant team structures.

Deterrence or reassurance? : Nordic responses to the First Detente, 1953-1956

Abstract: Historians remember 1953 for the death of Stalin and the ensuing relaxation of East-West tensions, now known as the First Detente. Based on recent Cold War scholarship supplemented by primary docum ...

Civil responsibility for gross human rights violations: the need for a global instrument

Abstract: This monograph provides a detailed description and analysis of the existing possibilities of establishing civil liability for gross human rights violations at the regional and international scale and concludes with the recommendation that only a merged system of the existing means of human rights protection will ensure effective human rights protection at a global scale.