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Models of academic listening ability indicate that two skills are crucial, identifying factual information and making appropriate inferences (e.g., Aryadoust, Goh, & Kim, 2012; Rost, 2011). However, designing tasks that target students' ability to make inferences can be challenging. This challenge is particularly important for academic English programs (AEPs) where such skills are important for academic success, and therefore, are often included in proficiency tests used for placement/exit decisions. For this study, questions from an AEP listening test were categorized as assessing either local or global comprehension skills. Examinees' performance on these questions was analyzed to determine whether: 1) four proficiency groups (advanced, high, intermediate, and low) differed in their performance on questions targeting local (factual/detail) and global (inference-propositional and inference-pragmatic) listening comprehension, and 2) within-group differences existed in examinees' performance on the same questions. Examinees' scores for questions measuring local and global listening comprehension were compared using an ANCOVA test. While examinees’ performance on the questions targeting local and global listening comprehension varied among the proficiency groups, scores revealed significant differences for listening skills within several of the proficiency groups. The findings raise important questions about the types of inference questions that should be included in L2 listening tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, U.S. labor and employment law has used a binary employment classification system, labeling workers as either employees or independent contractors. Employees are granted a variety of legal protections, while independent contractors are not. However, the explosion of the gig-economy--which connects consumers with underutilized resources--has produced a growing number of workers who do not seem to fit into either category. Though far from traditional employees, gig-workers bear little resemblance to independent contractors. Forced to choose, however, most gig-economy companies label their workers as independent contractors, depriving them of many basic worker-protections. Gig-workers have turned to the courts, hoping to secure employee protections, and judges have struggled to apply outdated multifactor tests to resolve these disputes. Using Uber drivers as a model for workers in the gig-economy, this note argues that such workers are properly classified as employees under the common-law control test, the prevailing legal standard today. However, because of outdated factors and widespread confusion regarding the current employment classification system, reform is necessary. The ABC Test, primarily used in state unemployment-insurance cases, offers the best alternative. The ABC Test limits the number of factors for courts to apply, eliminates the most manipulable and outdated factors, and adds a presumption in favor of employee status. Reforming the classification system in this way will ensure that the law treats gig-economy workers, a growing portion of the modern workforce, as employees with the support of necessary benefits and protections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a main intelligence collection processing and dissemination system of U. S. military forces, the Distributed Common Ground Station ( DCGS) has made a great progress in recent years for benefiting from the global information grid (GIG), cloud technology and big data technology, etc. This paper briefly introduces the developing progress of U. S. DCGS, with emphasis on the status and features of Air Force DCGS-AF and Army DCGS-A, including the architecture and ability of DCGS-AF Block 10.2 and DCGS -A 3.0 Griffin software, etc. According to operational applications of DCGS in Iraq and Afghanistan, it analyzes the future trends of DCGS in hope of providing reference for those concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sampling subnet is an important topic of complex network research. Sampling methods influence the structure and characteristics of subnet. Random multiple snowball with Cohen (RMSC) process sampling which combines the advantages of random sampling and snowball sampling is proposed in this paper. It has the ability to explore global information and discover the local structure at the same time. The experiments indicate that this novel sampling method could keep the similarity between sampling subnet and original network on degree distribution, connectivity rate and average shortest path. This method is applicable to the situation where the prior knowledge about degree distribution of original network is not sufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Community structure detection in complex networks has been intensively investigated in recent years. In this paper, we propose an adaptive approach based on ant colony clustering to discover communities in a complex network. The focus of the method is the clustering process of an ant colony in a virtual grid, where each ant represents a node in the complex network. During the ant colony search, the method uses a new fitness function to percept local environment and employs a pheromone diffusion model as a global information feedback mechanism to realize information exchange among ants. A significant advantage of our method is that the locations in the grid environment and the connections of the complex network structure are simultaneously taken into account in ants moving. Experimental results on computer-generated and real-world networks show the capability of our method to successfully detect community structures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ever since the topic of design and digital fabrication in architecture surfaced ten or so years ago (encouraged by organizations of ACADIA, ECAADE, SIGraDi, and CAADRIA), it has thrived as a productive strategy for advancing the discipline. Clearly, new maps have been charted in architectural discourse that will steer us toward a promising future. Beyond just developing skills to serve new methods of design-through-production, we must now question what ends this methodology serves. This writing is an attempt to chart three potential trajectories inherent in a design-through-production methodology 1) outlining an ethic of production at regional levels in light of the ocean of global information access, 2) investigating the formulation of form inherent in digital design methods, and 3) finding humanist aims through a technological lens. Finally, several pedagocical cases are offered as incremental examples to a collective body of work which applies the design-throughproduction methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Information Grid (GIG) is the military’s computer and communications network which supports the myriad of military missions. Military missions are highly planned, passing through many hands in the strategy-to-task methodology to ensure completeness, accuracy, coordination, cohesion, and appropriateness. A benefit of this planning is the possibility to collect knowledge of future conditions that could be of use to network designers whose goals include optimizing and protecting the GIG. This advanced knowledge includes which networked military equipment will be involved, what their capabilities are, where they will be, when they will be there, and particulars on the required data flows. A Network Tasking Order process is proposed as a means of collecting this information, analyzing the information to generate network taskings, and disseminating those taskings. Tactical integration of assets in mobile networks is introduced as another planning variable in the battlefield; not unlike logistical considerations such as fuel, ammunition, water, and so on used currently in operation planning. Modeling and simulation is used to support the proposed benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses a study on the concept of cyberspace operations based on computer network operations and use of global information grid. It indicates the U.S. Department of Defense's need for freedom of action to achieve its three major military and political objectives in cyberspace namely defending the country, responding to national-scale incidents and protecting the country's key national infrastructure.

The article discusses the concept of network-centric warfare as a new model of fighting and armed forces control which contributes to a more efficient form of combat operations controlled expeditiously on the principle of self-synchronization of the troops' structure. It indicates that military operations at any part of the world can be controlled from the Pentagon directly through a global combat Internet. It notes that a military Internet can be developed for the Russian Armed Forces.

The intent of this article is to describe—and prescribe—a scientific framework for assuring mission essential functions in a contested cyber environment. Such a framework has profound national security implications as the American military increasingly depends on cyberspace to execute critical mission sets. In setting forth this prescribed course of action, the article will first decompose information systems into atomic processes that manipulate information at all six phases of the information lifecycle, then systematically define the mathematical rules that govern mission assurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service-oriented architecture (SOA) for distributed computing has become increasingly popular due to the big advantage that distributed applications can be rapidly synthesized with the needed services provided by various service providers through heterogeneous networks. Systems based on SOA are called Service-based Systems (SBS), and a special variety of SBS, namely the Adaptive Service-Based Systems (ASBS), is aimed to be adaptable to constantly changing user requirements, environments and resource constraints. An important and difficult issue is how to design and develop ASBS to satisfy multiple QoS requirements in an open dynamic environment. In this paper, inspired by the underlying principle of hierarchical intelligent control, a three-layer architecture for developing and deploying ASBS is presented to address this issue. Compared with existing architectures for SBS, the advantage of using our architecture is that it provides the flexibility for system designers to adopt different control based approaches to guarantee user requirements and satisfy resource constraints at different levels of the system. Moreover, our architecture enables the system to take hierarchical adaptation actions at runtime to avoid possible violation of user requirement or resource constraint. An example is given to illustrate how to adopt our architecture to guide the design of a simple ASBS, and preliminary experimental data are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of developing ASBS based on our architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion of a solution to the need of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to take time-sensitive action on the Non-Secure Internet protocol Router Network (NIPRNET). The Global Information Grid (GIG), the area of operations controlled by the DOD, should be accessed so that the military's capabilities will not be degraded. The implementation of a new regulation or lawful order may reduce the risk of malicious code by options provided to the DOD and its commanders.

A hierarchical series of strategies is described as an approach for testing and evaluating network enabled systems and systems of systems. The approach builds upon traditional plarform performance and requirements-based testing and amplifies it to encompass the additional complexities of interacting systems with their potential for emergent behavior. It is in these interactions that the preponderance of "unknown unknowns" resides and the number of interactions grows geometrically with the size. Future tests will never be able to test a full factorial test matrix. Test and evaluation professionals must develop a systematic approach for building up results from single network nodes to complete joint systems. The hierarchical test strategies, combined with distributed testing and high fidelity live-virtual-constructive environments, are proposed as the most expedient means for satisfying network centric test requirements within time and budget constraints while mitigating technical and programmatic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) support distributed Test and Evaluation (T&E)? When will SOAs be suitable to support distributed testing data management requirements? What are the benefits of modernizing instrumentation to use an SOA for testing? Can SOAs improve reliability and composability of distributed T&E capabilities? These are just some of the questions that are being addressed in an ongoing Office of the Secretary of Defense distributed test infrastructure assessment that includes a study called 'Applicability of Service- Oriented Architecture (SOA) to Distributed Testing Infrastructure." This article will give an overview of this quantitative/qualitative study and the Community of interest being formed to support the study. In addition, the article will describe how the Netcentric Systems Test (NST) reference architecture developed under the T&E/Science & Technology NST focus area sponsored by the Test Resource Management Center is being used as a collaboration point to determine which T&E mission processes to consider in developing a use case for the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of ontologies to represent data and knowledge combined with service-based software provides new opportunities for the integration of command and control systems, simulations, and dynamic data. The U.S. Department of Defense's Global Information Grid (GIG) is envisioned to integrate complex communications networks, data from disparate sources, and services-oriented applications. The GIG will provide analysis, decision support, and information visualization to both human and automated users. This paper describes concepts and architecture for an experiment which demonstrates the use of knowledge-based technologies to support tactical maneuver. Open source and in-house software were linked together to conduct a simple simulation of a realistic mission (move from A to B along a “safe” route). Events which may affect the route are injected, reported, and stored in the knowledge base to simulate battlespace dynamics. Through the use of an automated reasoner, events which affect the route are identified and passed to the decision maker to stimulate possible replanning. Follow-on efforts will convert the maneuver related software into web services, moving closer to the GIG concept. Discussed is the value of a formal ontology within the domain of military maneuver, architectural approach, and lessons learned. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article provides perspectives on how a test organization can organize and plan for enterprise-wide adoption of advances in emerging technologies and techniques, whether developed in-house or acquired from external sources. This article enumerates capabilities that greatly enhance a test organization's ability to support the impending testing demands from such GIG/SOA-based projects and presents an overarching strategic plan for integrating existing test technologies, identifying enterprise-wide technology gaps, and coordinating the development and acquisition of new test capabilities to greatly accelerate their readiness to meet impending net-centric testing challenges. The plan discussed in this article includes short-, medium-, and long-term horizon components to acquire or improve current test capabilities and offers a layered architecture that provides a framework for capability acquisition. Test organizations can incentivize their contractors to exploit the composability, reusability, and extensibility of technical attributes of SOA to support the development of the layered architecture. The authors conclude that the design of the test organization instrumentation and automation on top of the GIG/SOA infrastructure should be based on a model-driven software approach, systems-engineering modeling, and simulation principles and frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast global information are still controlled and managed by the libraries only and a lump sum amount of the budgets are also being spent on storage, management and delivery of information (books, Journals, e- documents etc.). But in spite of huge expenditure, each and every small libraries is not capable to meet out cent percent requirements of users searching relevant information .The globalization of marketing technology has drastically changed the minds of the people, lifestyle, economics etc The present study reflects that year 2020 would be a year of economic concept of global information management through retail concept which will directly empower the people to collect, select and utilize information strictly on users profile/need. Most of the small libraries have become tool/shelter for collecting, storing vast information from publishers. Retail information concept can trigger proper delivery of information to right users only within limited financial constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the transformation of information-technology systems into a Global Information Grid (GIG) to used in the battlespace. The U.S. Defense Department is pursuing this to link sensors to weapons systems and provide unprecedented situational awareness. It serves as a response to the difficulties associated with sharing information between platforms and systems operating in joint environment. GIG may overpower war fighters with improper information if not properly implemented.

With the Information Age in full and rapid development, users are becoming accustomed to having immediate access to information. Users demand more capabilities from every kind of electronic device: more processing power, more features, and better connectivity. Users are also realizing the benefits of collaborating with others in their communities to help expand the body of knowledge. One user that understands the benefits of information sharing is the United States Department of Defense. The DoD's Network-Centric Enterprise Services initiative, along with the concept of pushing the ‘power to the edge,’ aims to enable end users with maximum situational awareness and the most comprehensive battlespace, all in a secure networking environment. Providing so much data and capabilities to the end user, however, will require an increase in communications capability and efficiency. To address increased capability needs, the DoD is continually developing and enhancing the Global Information Grid (GIG) throughout its various ‘layers’ of communication infrastructure. One such layer of infrastructure involves the use of cooperative low Earth orbiting satellites for efficient multicasting communications. In this article we review the network-centric concept and the GIG infrastructure. We then discuss the potential benefits to adding a low Earth orbit satellite communications infrastructure to the GIG model. Finally, we show how multicasting protocols can enhance the efficiency within the GIG and reduce some of the long-haul communications burdens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are considered by many as fundamental to realizing the Global Information Grid (GIG) and the vision of network-centric warfare. Indeed, a fully realized MANET would be powerful in enabling highly mobile, highly responsive, and quickly deployable tactical forces. However, significant technical challenges remain before this realization is viable. Addressing these deficiencies is a significant task that will require the invention and adoption of new technology. The goal of this article is not to declare these capabilities impossible to achieve. Rather, it is to manage the expectation of the capabilities achievable in the foreseeable future through edification on the technical difficulties standing between current technology and the desired capabilities. This article provides an overview of the military MANET problem space, describing the ideal military MANET solution. Several deficiencies are highlighted that exist between MANET technologies and the desired capability. Identified technical issues include system-level architecture, routing (both interior and exterior), management, security, and medium access control (MAC), with an emphasis on the former two areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service-oriented architectures promise easier integration of functionality in the form of web services into operational systems than is the case with interface-driven system-oriented approaches. Although the Extensible Markup Language (XML) enables a new level of interoperability among heterogeneous systems, XML alone does not solve all interoperability problems users contend with when integrating services into operational systems. To manage the basic challenges of service interoperation, we developed the Levels of Conceptual Interoperability Model (LCIM) to enable a layered approach and gradual solution improvements. Furthermore, we developed methods of model-based data engineering (MBDE) for semantically consistent service integration as a first step. These methods have been applied in the U.S. in collaboration with industry resulting in proofs of concepts. The results are directly applicable in a net-centric and net-enabled environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The transformation to net-centric operations necessitates evaluation of existing avionics capabilities, identification of deficiencies of these avionics for net-centric operations, and evaluation of alternative avionics that can provide the needed capabilities. The Global Information Grid (GIG) enables net-centric operations. The purpose of the GIG is to provide end users real-time or near-real-time access to multiple information sources ranging from airborne/satellite/ground sensors (video imagery and processed visual information/data) to databases. The end users in an aircraft view and interact with this information through the human system interface (HSI) or "smart" displays. The information is transmitted across a Gigabit Ethernet on-board the aircraft that interfaces with multiple channels of a software programmable radio that acts as a hub in the GIG network, or on-board sensors and processors. This paper presents the mandated capabilities, and the processes involved in determination of upgrades needed to achieve net-centric operations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The idea for this lecture is “Looking at a Complex Puzzle” from different viewpoints, including changes resulting from the passage of time. The title gives anchor‐positions to each single word and question mark – and offers the possibility of combining two, three or all four words. It is not only “Technology Development”, but also mankind's fantasy that is driving us. Most of the developments for our reality and environment have already been described years or even decades ago. We are moving towards an “Information Society”, but do we not already have more than one type of “Society” on this planet? The advantages of broadband communication with regard to education, knowledge formation and economical development are obvious, but not everyone has access to it or can use it. Last century during the 1950's, then United States' President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, initiated the “Atoms for Peace” Program. Worldwide networking was initiated with advanced information exchange. Is it now possible to set up a worldwide “Read, Write, Calculate and Think” Program? Assuming that information is important for mankind, we see a large number of players taking action, but we must understand that no individual player can do everything alone. It is together that they create a totally “New World” for legal and regulatory developments. The difficulties of harmonization are clearly shown by the lack of results from the Global Business Dialog: We are not ready! And although we are not able to look into future, we are certain of the following: The character of the information society under development is unknown, and the future information complex needs steady careful observation and improvement whenever and wherever possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]