Transcript Slide 1

683 Abstracts 1-2-3
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Characterization of Open Systems
JC080414
 Background: Open systems appear to offer many benefits: Maybe of most
“commercial” interest is the ability to provide customers with functioning
products in a very reduced timeframe compared to more traditional approaches.
But how can an open system approach be instantiated and sustained within a
“company” environment in such a way the CFO can still sleep at night?
 Project Basis: This work is a starting point of broader study (my PhD research)
to consider how to overcome some of the challenges an enterprise would face
in utilizing an open system approach as the basis for it’s organizational
structure. To be able to do this I need an understanding of the frameworks and
(maybe perceived) benefits of a set of potentially applicable open system
constructs.
 Problem: Although there are many examples of open systems that have been
studied I have not found a common lexicon to describe or classify, nor a
description of their related benefits that is directly applicable in my research.
 Project: Describe and classify open systems frameworks that may be applicable
to the structure of a commercial organization and describe their differences,
relating them to the perceived (or otherwise) benefits of each.
 Expected outcome: A description of the (+/-) 5 key characteristics of the open
system approaches that could be applicable for adoption within a commercial
enterprise to provide the basis for a glossary and potentially metrics used in my
research.
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Mapping the Human Terrain
MF080414
 Problem Statement: Cultural awareness, attitude and perspective towards select
subjects are largely unknown in certain denied populations. Anticipation of
future behaviors in target group would greatly facilitate relations. Indications of
attitude toward select subjects would provide needed feedback to specified
strategies.
 Method: Engage international preteen and teens in game, virtual world
environment or interactive book that require choice and selection on the part of
the gamer. Behaviors in environment documented and analyzed.
 Questions: Can target group be attracted? Can cultural awareness be extracted
from on line behavior? Can perspective on select subject matter be ascertained
from virtual interaction?
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Protein Synthesis System Simulation
with Implications for Data Modeling
KL080414
Biological systems store significant information in DNA and
use RNA and proteins to transmit information. This project
proposes the construction of a simulation of the protein
synthesis system found in biological systems. The
application of the principles involved in this system will be
explored as a foundation for an information system.
Hypothesis: Principles used in the protein synthesis system can be applied to
information systems.
Experimental approach: Construct, in a virtual world, a simulation of
the protein synthesis system. Correlate the various resources used by
the system to information systems including information modeling,
transmission and storage. Construct, in a virtual world, a simulation of
a protein-synthesis-based information system.
Expected results: Movies providing better understanding of the biological
system and how its principles can be applied to information systems.
Three questions to be answered:
 What are the correlations between the protein synthesis system and an
information system?
 Is the protein synthesis system a reasonable model for an information
system?
 Is there an obvious advantage to using this model in an information system?
Significance of the work: Foundational support for dissertation work.
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Democracy as a system
- its evolution, nature and future
GT080414
Problem statement:
 To investigate the nature of democracy as a political system
 Explore its history and understand how it has evolved into its current forms
 Assess the health of democracy as a system today
 Look forward and ask how well these systems will age in a highly competitive
environment
Methodology:
 Literature search
 Catalogue democratic systems
 Model democratic aging/evolution in the context of a changing enemy
Key questions to be answered:
1. How did democratic systems become what they are today?
2. How well is democracy likely to age in the near to middle future?
3. What can be done to improve the future outlook?
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Review of Self-Organizing Patterns
GP080414
 Purpose: Identify additional system architecture patterns that directly
support or enable self-organization.
 Method:
 Define a set of self-organizing characteristics from the course material.
 Find and review sources of published system patterns and select patterns
based on these characteristics.
 Present the patterns, selection rationale and examples if possible.
 Questions:
 Q1: Are there architecture patterns in addition to those discussed in class
that support self-organization?
 Q2: How do these patterns promote self-organization?
 Q3: Can they be further categorized?
 Q4: Can they be used to better illustrate the course concepts?
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NA080111
TM
LINKing the Elements
PROJECT: Synopsize Linked with an integration of the 683 course principles.
Purpose
 Synopsize Barabasi’s concepts of how links and nodes demonstrate the propogation
of interconnectivity and organization
 Use social, historical, technology, and biological examples to demonstrate the
Product
 A comprehensive paper which is best suited as an accompaniment to the text
 Can also be used as an overview of the text for those less-intimately familiar with the
subject area
(Some of the main) Objectives
 What are the fundamentals of the connectivity Barabasi describes? What causes
these relationships?
 In complex networks, what factors sustain, catalyze, or paralyze growth?
 How to complex networks mitigate paralyzing factors that may cause selective
destruction, or destroy entire nodes?
 Barabasi presents a variety of examples through time and across multiple
disciplines. Are there fields to which these concepts are not applicable?
Nisha Agrawal
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Terron Distant Early Warning & Protective System
CA080111
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State system requirements
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Propose high-level design to maximize use of self-organization and swarming
characteristics
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Establish system design principles from multiple sources to evaluate design
◦ (e.g. Coupling, Autocatalysis, Functions, Stigmergy, etc.)
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Summarize with findings about system behavior, patterns, emergence, and
possible directions for future research
Clark Ansel
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Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW)
NB080111
What is it?
 There are several ideas, some conflicting, as to what 5GW is; therefore, my
goal is to get a good working definition of it.
 Example: “…super-empowered individuals or small groups bound together
by love for a cause rather than a nation. Employing emerging technology,
they are able to generate destructive power that used to require the resources
of a nation-state.” (Hammes, 2007)
Are the key/common elements of 5GW? If so, what are they?
How many types of 5GW are there?
To which fields can you apply 5GW?
Possible examples of 5GW:
 Suicide bombers
 Small and large scale bioterror attacks
 2001 anthrax attacks ■ DNA hacking
 Hostage takers
■ Dr. Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski (zenpundit.com)
Hammes, Colonel T. X. USMC, Retired. 2007. Fourth Generation Warfare Evolves, Fifth Emerges Military Review.
Niki Borkowski
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JC080111
TM
Group Dynamics
 How do random people in a group react and evolve when a catalyst
(situation or events can range from work projects to disaster response)
happens.
 What recurring patterns are seen after the event.
 How can this information be utilized in order to shorten the amount of
time from chaos to organized response for future events?
James Chu
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DHS adopting self-organization &
networking concepts for problem solving
MC080111
Background: Around certain areas of interest, the concept of wiki-type forums has
become popular as a method for “semi-”open information exchange and problem
solving between federal agencies and its state/local partners. Example
communities include First and Emergency Responders, Bomb Technicians, and
Law Enforcement
Proposed Project: Examine several
examples of these as case studies to
answer:
 Are their common principles that
contribute to the success / failure of
the forum?
 Are there self-organizing system
concepts that can be extracted?
Each case study would be examined for:
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Potential Case Studies
• Responder Knowledge Base (RKB) – (FEMA)
• System Assessment and Validation for
Emergency Responders (SAVER) – (FEMA)
• SAFECOM – (OIC)
• Lessons Learned Information Sharing (LLIS)
• TripWire – (FBI)
• Bomb Arson Tracking System (BATS) – (ATF)
• Homeland Security Information Network
(HSIN)
How it works—how do members contribute/communicate?
Who is allowed access?
Who moderates and/or maintains the information?
Is there any verification of information posted?
How does the forum contribute to the community of interest?
What has the forum affected (e.g., policy, procedures, information sharing, operation
effectiveness)?
Melanie Cummings
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RE080111
TM
Modeling the Governance of
Open Systems
 This research will continue the exploration of governance of open systems, particularly open
organizations. The research will investigate the following questions (or some set of the thereof!):
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What are the characteristics and principles of open system governance?
What is aging in open systems and what are the related correction/policing activities?
What is an appropriate open system governance conceptual model? Are there patterns there or interest?
How can open systems be modeled – assess current state-of-the-art (systems dynamics, agent based, etc.)
 Goal: Make a preliminary model environment selection and implement simplified proof of concept
Agile Governance in the Open Organization (Edson, 2008)
The Open Presidential Campaign Extended
Enterprise Landscape View (Edson, 2008)
Robert Edson
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al-Qaeda
RF080111
Is al-Qaeda a “starfish” or a “spider”?
Can al-Qaeda be defeated with today’s US military tactics?
Is al-Qaeda a SO-SoS?
In my SDOE 683 term paper, I will attempt to answer these
questions from the knowledge gained during the course.
Richard Fekecs
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JF080111
TM
Aging Decentralized Systems
This idea came from a class discussion on how decentralized systems change as they grow
Examples that came to my mind were:
 American revolutionaries, (they acted as small militias in a very loosely centralized
architecture). As America and its military have grown, the centralized nature has
increased. This centralization makes us unable to fight the same guerrilla battles that
we once engaged in with ease – why?
 Hard Drive Industry. In the book “Inventor’s Dilemma” successful hard drive
companies couldn’t compete against new technologies that in habit the same space
they came from – I haven’t tied this to decentralization, but am hoping to find
something there.
 Class discussion revolved around the change in Wikipedia and Diggs. My thought is to
explore what is driving the changes
What is the effect of aging on a decentralized system
What threat does aging pose to a decentralized system?
How does growth affect a decentralized system?
 Are highly effective and efficient (and thereby highly popular) decentralized systems
doomed for centrality as they grow?
Which decentralized systems (if any) already demonstrate this aging effect?
Jamie Frittman
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Social Networks in Disaster Response
HG080111
Hurricane Victims and Spontaneous Volunteers
 What social ties are created or broken during or in response
to a hurricane ? (btw victims and/or volunteers)
 Do these interactions lead victims to respond
actively/become spontaneous volunteers?
 How do these findings describe the system? (i.e. are they
generating functions?)
Holly Giles
15
BH080111
TM
Explore the Relationship of
Victims to Disaster Response

At Home in the Universe
• Figures 3.3 and 3.4
• Can response be anticipated using the Button and Thread
analogy?
• What might cause a phase transition between proactive and
passive response?

The Starfish and the Spider
• How might decentralized victims be included in a centralized
response?
• Is there a “sweet spot”?
Brenda Harris
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LJ080111
TM
Using Agent-Based Modeling to
explore the effects of education on
group behavior
Previous studies of self-organizing system of systems in
nature (such as the study of ants) have identified many
applications:
 Programming “teams” of robots to work together
 Predicting traffic flows as a result of bridge closings, etc.
 Forecasting troop movement
This study explores another application: simulating the
effects of disaster preparedness education on group
behavior during a disaster
 What applicable business rules can be gleaned from other studies?
 What is the minimum percent of educated individuals needed to have
a decisive impact on the behavior of the group?
Linda Jameson
17
TM
What is the value of leadership in
transformation of self-organizing
systems (open organizations)?
Open organizations are
defined by their process
structures & identity
Leadership shapes the
organization--organization
and the environment shape
each other
Organizational stability-partnership with
environment--self-organizing
dynamics dominate
externally induced changes
to a point . . .
GJ080111
Environment
Information
Disturbances
Organization
Self-organizing capabilities
Leadership
“When a self-organizing system experiences any amplification process, change is at
hand. If the amplifications increase to the level where they destabilize the system,
the system can no longer remain as it is. At this moment, the system is at a
crossroads, standing poised between death and transformation.”
(Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science, 2006)
Georganne John
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NL080111
 Project: Develop a lexicon with terms that describe the
patterns seen throughout SOSoS class
 Objectives
 Define key common patterns (e.g. emergent
behavior)
 Provide examples where these patterns occur within
SOSoS
 Define key terms unique to specific SOSoS types
(e.g. autocatalysis)
 Develop bibliography to provide references for
lexicon entries
 Coordinate with other students developing similar
projects to reduce duplication of effort
Nicole Long
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SM080111
Are Massively Multiplayer Online Games
(MMOG) such as World of Warcraft and
Second life examples of self-organizing
system-of-systems?
 What is their evolution – what characteristics
are critical to become successful and how will
they age?
 Do MMOG’s need to have SO characteristics in
order to be successful over time?
Scott Mathias
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AM080111
Achieving interoperability:
a comparison of patterns in public
safety communications and
responses to incidents of
national significance.
The paper will examine the offerings of Cyren Call
to build a public safety network in the U.S.,
compared with those of O2 Airwave to replace the
legacy communications system used by the fire
and rescue service in the U.K.
The paper will also examine the issue of
community interoperability in responses to
incidents of national significance to determine if
there is commonality between different types of
interoperability and how that might be applied to
improve effectiveness.
Alex McLellan
21
TM
What is the value of leadership in
transformation of self-organizing
systems (open organizations)?
AP080111
Autocatalysis is a well known phenomenon that occurs when the product
of a reaction serves as a catalyst for the reaction. Beginning slowly, the
rate of the reaction rapidly increases and through voluntary collaboration
a regenerative system is born.
 How do you get a system to regenerate without someone
instructing it to do so?
 What causes autocatalysis to occur in an open system?
 Can you sustain it and if so, how?
In this paper, I will attempt to provide insight to each of these questions
by examining an open system (TBD) and attempting to expand upon
previous research, specifically, autocatalysis as one of the three enablers
for swarming systems and flow versus transition, boost and bound and
agent diversity as design principles for autocatalysis.
Annette Pacella
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Applied Chaos Theory
PP080111
A Paradigm for Complexity, by A.B. Çambel
Project:
 Develop a “Reader’s
Digest” condensed
version of Çambel’s
book
 Focus on
correlations to and
implications for
open systems and
the edge of chaos
Paul Peterson
Answer the following:
 How can chaos theory
contribute to
understanding:
 Self-adaptive
systems
 Open systems
 Operations at the
edge of chaos
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TP080111
TM
al-Qaeda Recruitment
and Self-Recruitment
Seeking to understand the self-organizing characteristics of al-Qaeda members in
order to spread their ideology and how certain individuals play key roles in
recruiting others to their cause.
 What recurring patterns are used within al-Qaeda to recruit members and/or
create empathy within different populations?
 Given these techniques, what are the roles of individuals within and outside
of the organization in recruiting?
 In what ways do these roles emerge and display characteristics of selforganization?
 How does all of this support al-Qaeda’s agility in the face of the Global War on
Terrorism?
Trina Powell
24
TS080111
TM
Positive and Negative Feedback
in Human Activity SoS
Background:
 World is changing dramatically and at an increased rate due to technology,
cultural development – Can Human Activity Systems keep up?
 Systems need to be able to balance changes in the ecosystem with function
of the system in order to be successful or to evolve.
 Positive/Negative feedback mechanisms affect this balance.
 Positive/Negative feedback mechanisms directly influence cascading failures
and the development of positive/negative SO SoS.
Goal:
 Investigate and define Positive/Negative feedback mechanisms in two
domains: Intra-system and ecosystem
 Select case study that may help illuminate principles of positive/negative
feedback mechanisms with an aim at how one could architect control
mechanisms into a Human Activity SoS that may incentivize balanced SO SoS
formation and/or prevent cascading failures.
Tavis Steenbeck
25
Open Systems
SW080111
Define:
 Open Systems
 Closed Systems
 Parities/Disparities
Can we:
 Categorize Open Systems
 What are its characteristics
 Categorize Closed Systems
 What are its characteristics
Does this lead to “types” of Open Systems
Scott Wolf
26
BY080111
TM
Collective Action Problem
 Contrast
O2 Airwave with Verizon’s and
Cyren Call’s national public safety networks
– using RRS and RA Analysis tools.
 Why has this taken so long to implement?
 Have decentralized networks within the United
States provided this capability?
Benjamin Yarish
27
Projects done by the for-credit students in the very first class…
before project abstracts were part of the ritual
Self Organizing Proactive Security
(the nature of opportunities)
Generating Functions
(what are they in general)
Subsumption Architecture & Rodney Brooks
(produce a film)
A Synopsis of: Amity and Enmity V1
by Rudolph Starkerman
JW071015
PG071015
BM071015
KS071015
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