ARMY
PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL
The United States Army Research Office (ARO) manages the Army’s Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. The following pages list topics that have been approved for the fiscal year 2008 STTR program. Proposals addressing these areas will be accepted for consideration if they are received no later than the closing date and hour of this solicitation.
The Army anticipates funding sufficient to award one or two STTR Phase I contracts to small businesses with their partner research institutions in each topic area. Awards will be made on the basis of technical evaluations using the criteria contained in the solicitation, within the bounds of STTR funds available to the Army. If no proposals within a given area merit support relative to those in other areas, the Army will not award any contracts for that topic. Phase I contracts are limited to a maximum of $100,000 over a period not to exceed six months.
Only Government personnel will evaluate proposals with the exception of technical personnel from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Azimuth, Inc. who will provide Advisory and Assistance Services to the Army, providing technical analysis in the evaluation of proposals submitted against Army topic numbers: A08–T035, A08–T038 and A08–T041. Individuals from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Azimuth, Inc. will be authorized access to only those portions of the proposal data and discussions that are necessary to enable them to perform their respective duties. These firms are expressly prohibited from competing for STTR awards and from scoring or ranking of proposals or recommending the selection of a source. In accomplishing their duties related to the source selection process, the aforementioned firm may require access to proprietary information contained in the offerors' proposals. Therefore, pursuant to FAR 9.505-4, these firms must execute an agreement that states that they will (1) protect the offerors’ information from unauthorized use or disclosure for as long as it remains proprietary and (2) refrain from using the information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished. These agreements will remain on file with the Army.
The Army requires that your entire proposal be submitted electronically through the DoD-wide SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission Website (http://www.dodsbir.net/submission). A hardcopy is NOT required. Hand or electronic signature on the proposal is also NOT required.
The DoD-wide SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission system (available at http://www.dodsbir.net/submission) will lead you through the preparation and submission of your proposal. Refer to section 3.0 at the front of this solicitation for detailed instructions on Phase I proposal format. You must include a Company Commercialization Report as part of each proposal you submit; however, it does not count against the proposal page limit. If you have not updated your commercialization information in the past year, or need to review a copy of your report, visit the DoD SBIR/STTR Proposal Submission site. Please note that improper handling of the Commercialization Report may result in the proposal being substantially delayed and that information provided may have a direct impact on the review of the proposal. Refer to section 3.5d at the front of this solicitation for detailed instructions on the Company Commercialization Report.
If you collaborate with a university, please highlight the research that they are doing and verify that the work is FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH.
Be reminded that if your proposal is selected for award, the technical abstract and discussion of anticipated benefits will be publicly released on the Internet. Therefore, do not include proprietary or classified information in these sections. DoD will not accept classified proposals for the STTR Program. Note also that the DoD web site contains data on all DoD SBIR/STTR Phase I and II awards going back several years. This information can be viewed on the DoD SBIR/STTR Awards Search website at www.dodsbir.net/awards.
Based upon progress achieved under a Phase I contract, utilizing the criteria in Section 4.3, a firm may be invited to submit a Phase II proposal (however, Fast Track Phase II proposals do not require invitation – see Section 4.5 of this solicitation). Phase II proposals should be structured as follows: the first 10-12 months (base effort) should be approximately $375,000; the second 10-12 months of funding should also be approximately $375,000. The entire Phase II effort should generally not exceed $750,000. Contract structure for the Phase II contract is at the discretion of the Army’s Contracting Officer after negotiations with the small business.
The Army does not issue interim or option funding between STTR phase I and II efforts, but will provide accelerated phase II proposal evaluation and contracting for projects that qualify for fast-track status.
Army STTR Contracts may be fully funded or funded using options or incremental funding.
CONTRACTOR MANPOWER REPORTING (CMR) (Note: Applicable only to U.S. Army issued STTR contracts)
Accounting for Contract Services, otherwise known as Contractor Manpower Reporting (CMR), is a Department of Defense Business Initiative Council (BIC) sponsored program to obtain better visibility of the contractor service workforce. This reporting requirement applies to all STTR contracts issued by an Army Contracting Office.
Offerors are instructed to include an estimate for the cost of complying with CMR as part of the cost proposal for Phase I ($100,000 max) and Phase II ($750,000 max), under “CMR Compliance” in Other Direct Costs. This is an estimated total cost (if any) that would be incurred to comply with the CMR requirement. Only proposals that receive an award will be required to deliver CMR reporting, i.e. if the proposal is selected and an award is made, the contract will include a deliverable for CMR.
To date, there has been a wide range of estimated costs for CMR. While most final negotiated costs have been minimal, there appears to be some higher cost estimates that can often be attributed to misunderstanding the requirement. The STTR program desires for the Government to pay a fair and reasonable price. This technical analysis is intended to help determine this fair and reasonable price for CMR as it applies to STTR contracts.
· The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) operates and maintains the secure CMR System. The CMR website is located here: https://contractormanpower.army.pentagon.mil/.
· The CMR requirement consists of the following 13 items, which are located within the contract document, the contractor's existing cost accounting system (i.e. estimated direct labor hours, estimated direct labor dollars), or obtained from the contracting officer representative:
(1) Contracting Office, Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer's Technical Representative;
(2) Contract number, including task and delivery order number;
(3) Beginning and ending dates covered by reporting period;
(4) Contractor name, address, phone number, e-mail address, identity of contractor employee entering data;
(5) Estimated direct labor hours (including sub-contractors);
(6) Estimated direct labor dollars paid this reporting period (including sub-contractors);
(7) Total payments (including sub-contractors);
(8) Predominant Federal Service Code (FSC) reflecting services provided by contractor (and separate predominant FSC for each sub-contractor if different);
(9) Estimated data collection cost;
(10) Organizational title associated with the Unit Identification Code (UIC) for the Army Requiring Activity (The Army Requiring Activity is responsible for providing the contractor with its UIC for the purposes of reporting this information);
(11) Locations where contractor and sub-contractors perform the work (specified by zip code in the United States and nearest city, country, when in an overseas location, using standardized nomenclature provided on website);
(12) Presence of deployment or contingency contract language; and
(13) Number of contractor and sub-contractor employees deployed in theater this reporting period (by country).
· The reporting period will be the period of performance not to exceed 12 months ending September 30 of each government fiscal year and must be reported by 31 October of each calendar year.
· According to the required CMR contract language, the contractor may use a direct XML data transfer to the Contractor Manpower Reporting System database server or fill in the fields on the Government website. The CMR website also has a no-cost CMR XML Converter Tool.
· The CMR FAQ explains that a fair and reasonable price for CMR should not exceed 20 hours per contractor. Please note that this charge is PER CONTRACTOR not PER CONTRACT, for an optional one time set up of the XML schema to upload the data to the server from the contractor's payroll systems automatically. This is not a required technical approach for compliance with this requirement, nor is it likely the most economical for small businesses. If this is the chosen approach, the CMR FAQ goes on to explain that this is a ONE TIME CHARGE, and there should be no direct charge for recurring reporting. This would exclude charging for any future Government contract or to charge against the current STTR contract if the one time set up of XML was previously funded in a prior Government contract.
· Given the small size of our STTR contracts and companies, it is our opinion that the modification of contractor payroll systems for automatic XML data transfer is not in the best interest of the Government. CMR is an annual reporting requirement that can be achieved through multiple means to include manual entry, MS Excel spreadsheet development, or use of the free Government XML converter tool. The annual reporting should take less than a few hours annually by an administrative level employee. Depending on labor rates, we would expect the total annual cost for STTR companies to not exceed $500 annually, or to be included in overhead rates.
Army STTR 08.A Topic Index
A08-T001 Application of Critical Thinking to Interpersonal Interactions
A08-T002 Training Leaders to Manage Emotions in an Interpersonal Context
A08-T003 Training Tools to Improve the Teaching and Coaching Skills of Military Advisors
A08-T004 Field/Circuit Computational Modeling and Simulation Software Tool
A08-T005 Trustworthy Execution of Security-Sensitive Code on Un-trusted Systems
A08-T006 Optimized Human Performance: Mitochondrial Energetics
A08-T007 Liquid Metal Anodes for a JP-8 Fuel Cell
A08-T008 Improved Physical Security of Military Bases through Perimeter Tagging
A08-T009 A Nanotechnology-Based Hydrogen Generator for a Compact Fuel Cell Power System
A08-T010 A Compact Solid Acid Electrolyte Fuel Cell Generator
A08-T011 Active Transport Exchange for Compact Sustained Power
A08-T012 Electrostatic atomizing fuel injector for small scale engines
A08-T013 Time–Domain Terahertz Ellipsometry for Reflection-Mode Sensing
A08-T014 Micro-burner Based Flame Ionization Detectors for Micro-scale Gas Chromatographs
A08-T015 Breathable Elastomer Membrane Liner
A08-T016 Devices and Textiles for Broad-Spectrum Protection
A08-T017 Ultra-Low-Noise Infrared Detector Amplifier for Next Generation Standoff Detector
A08-T018 Vision-based 3D Simultaneous Localization and Mapping
A08-T019 Development of a Soldier Battlespace Auditory Analyzer System
A08-T020 Dilution refrigerator technology for scalable quantum computing
A08-T021 Eye-safe Optically-Pumped Gas-filled Fiber Lasers
A08-T022 Ionic Liquid Monopropellant Based Gas Generator
A08-T023 In-Situ Reforming of Middle-Distillate Fuels Through Catalytic Cracking of Long-Chain Hydrocarbon Molecules
A08-T024 Advanced Point Sensor
A08-T025 Bi-spectral (Visible & Infrared) Material for Smoke/Obscurant Munitions
A08-T026 Advanced Algorithms For A Combined Chem-Bio Standoff Sensor
A08-T027 Super Hardened, EMI and Vibration Immune Chemical Biological Sensor
A08-T028 Development of a Fire-Resistant, Thermal Barrier Coating with Low-Temperature Flexibility
A08-T029 Nanoscale In-Solution TEM Sample Stage With Manipulation Capability
A08-T030 Straight Vegetable Oil Modification for Combustion
A08-T031 Scalable and Deployable Microgrids
A08-T032 Aerosol Decontaminant for Use in Patient Care Areas
A08-T033 Bioinformatic Based Wearable Critical Care Monitor
A08-T034 Robotic Standoff Neck and Spinal Injury Assessment Device
A08-T035 Ante-mortem Diagnostics for Prion Infection
A08-T036 Automated Microscopic Malaria Diagnosis
A08-T037 A Real-Time, Portable Non-Invasive Monitoring System of Muscle Oxygen and pH in Trauma Patients
A08-T038 Surgical Tools for the Removal of Solid Tumors with Enhanced Accuracy at the Tumor Margin
A08-T039 A Real-Time, Non-Invasive Monitoring System of Combat Casualties
A08-T040 Improved Compliance with Antimalarial Prophylaxis Through Novel Routes of Administration
A08-T041 Novel Biomarkers Assessment in the Progression from Androgen Dependent Prostate Cancer to Androgen Independent Prostate Cancer
A08-T042 Advanced Vehicle/Terrain Interaction Modeling to Support Power and Energy Analysis
Army STTR 08.A Topic Descriptions
A08-T001 TITLE: Application of Critical Thinking to Interpersonal Interactions
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop and assess a web based training system to train critical thinking skills for military interpersonal situations.
DESCRIPTION: As the scope of military operations widens to include Soldiers’ interactions with personnel from other government and non-government agencies, civilians from other cultures, and coalition forces, Solders’ interpersonal skills become pivotal in the success of those operations. Even within the Army itself, effective interpersonal interactions form the foundation against which successful operations are executed. For example, Army commanders must motivate, assess interpersonal situations, influence, settle disputes, negotiate, communicate, and assess and adjust the organizational climate. All of these require effective interpersonal interactions.
Interpersonal interactions are ordinarily viewed as requiring intuitive and subjective skills. However, the effectiveness of interpersonal skills would be increased by being able to deliberately and consciously think through and assess interpersonal situations, accurately assess one’s own and others motivations and biases, and mindfully develop options to pursue.
Critical thinking is used in the meta-tasks of understanding, situation assessment, problem solving and decision making, and evaluating (Fischer, Spiker and Riedel, 2004). All of these tasks are also found in interpersonal situations and suggests that the use of critical thinking in these situations would contribute to increased interpersonal effectiveness.
In order to ensure that Soldiers have the best skills to operate effectively in interpersonal situations, they need to be able to apply critical thinking to those situations. The Army’s educational curriculum currently includes courses in critical thinking for Army officers (e.g. Command and General Staff College Intermediate Level Education program), however those skills are applied to tasks such as mission analysis, war gaming, and analyzing courses of action, not to interpersonal situations. Explicit training applying critical thinking to military interpersonal situations is needed.
In order to develop training for critical thinking skills as applied to interpersonal skills, the relationship between critical thinking and interpersonal effectiveness should be understood. A model describing the relationship between critical thinking and interpersonal effectiveness is needed. For different types of interpersonal situations, the model would specify where in the interaction processes different critical thinking skills could be used. Further, identification of a set of high impact skills for military interpersonal situations is needed. The educational and scientific literature contains hundreds of skills that have been labeled as critical thinking skills (Fischer, et al, 2004). Those that would be most useful in military interpersonal settings should be identified.
The training development plan should include identification or development of measurement instruments to measure those critical thinking skills being trained. These measures can then be used to provide feedback to trainees and to assess the effectiveness of the training.
PHASE I: Develop a theoretical model to describe the relationship between critical thinking and effective interpersonal interactions. Identify and validate critical thinking skills applicable across a broad range of military interpersonal situations. From this set, select high impact skills for which to develop training. Develop a comprehensive training strategy for applying these critical thinking skills to military interpersonal situations.
PHASE II: Develop and assess a web based system for training critical thinking as applied to military interpersonal situations. The system would train the high impact critical thinking skills identified in Phase I. The training would be adaptable for self development, on line courses, or school house curricula. It would incorporate innovative techniques to train critical thinking skills for application in interpersonal environments within a web based training platform.
PHASE III: The model would be useful to basic research scientists in that it would articulate the relationship between critical thinking and interpersonal skills. Current literature maintains that critical thinking skills are needed in interpersonal situations but does not describe how or where they should be used. Critical thinking training is and has been of great interest to civilian and corporate educators and trainers, but the application has been to tasks not interpersonal relationships. The proposed work could extend critical thinking training to interpersonal applications in these training civilian settings.
REFERENCES:
1. Fischer, S.C., Spiker, V.A., & Riedel S.L. (2004). Critical Thinking Training for Army Officers. Volume Two: A Model of Critical thinking. Anacapa Sciences, Inc.
2. Murensky, C. L. (2000). The relationships between emotional intelligence, personality, critical thinking ability, and organizational performance at upper levels of management. Dissertation Abstracts International, 61, 1121.
KEYWORDS: Critical Thinking Skills, Interpersonal Skills, web based training, Critical Thinking Training
A08-T002 TITLE: Training Leaders to Manage Emotions in an Interpersonal Context
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop a conceptual model of emotion management to guide the development of a computer-based training tool to improve leader’s ability to accurately perceive and control emotions in self and others in an interpersonal context
DESCRIPTION: Strong, competent leaders define the U.S. Army of today and tomorrow. The Army leader inspires, influences, and motivates others (superiors, peers, and subordinates) both internal and external to the Army to accomplish organizational goals (FM 6-22, pp. 1-1). Leaders inspire and motivate through interpersonal communication which consists of verbal and nonverbal exchanges. Examples of interpersonal contexts in which leaders often engage include facilitating group problem solving activities, delivering performance feedback (positive and negative), and eliciting information from others. The effectiveness of the leader’s exchange is dependent upon his/her interpersonal skill, particularly their tact.
A leader’s level of interpersonal tact is a strong predictor of effective influence attempts. The Army defines interpersonal tact as knowing and accepting what others perceive, how they react, and the motives and values that motivate them (FM 6-22, pp. 6-3). Interpersonal tact is a combination of three leader processes: self-control (remain in control of thoughts and actions), balance (display appropriate expressions and read others’ expressions), and stability (sustain appropriate expression across contexts). The effectiveness of a leader engaging with others is dependent upon his/her level of interpersonal tact, where higher levels will increase the effectiveness of leader exchange behaviors.
Underlining these leader processes are the emotions experienced by the leader and others involved in the interaction. Self-control is as apparent in a leader who controls expression of positive and/or negative emotions across all contexts. Balance refers to the leader expressing the correct emotion for a particular situation (e.g., expressing empathy towards an injured subordinate) and accurately assessing others’ emotional state. Stability describes the leader’s ability to maintain control of one’s emotions for extended periods and across different contextual demands. Together, these emotional processes define a leader’s level of interpersonal tact, and subsequently impact the leader’s ability to effectively perform in an interpersonal context.
A large body of research has explored the role of emotions in interpersonal exchanges. Emotions can impact the leader’s influence on team processes including promoting healthy constructive controversy (Fitness, 2000), creative problem solving (Bar-On, Handley, & Fund, 2006; Isen & Labroo, 2003), and higher performance (Jordan & Ashkanasy, 2006; Wolf et al., 2006). Leader’s use of inappropriate emotions can negatively impact subordinate perceptions of the leader (Newcombe & Ashkanasy, 2002) and acceptance of feedback (Gaddis, Mumford, & Connelly, 2004). More recently, Major Abrahams investigated the role of leader emotions in an Army context with a survey of 271 U.S. Army Command and General Staff College students. Results evidenced a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and command climate, where higher emotional intelligence resulted in more reports of leaders creating effective and positive command climates (Abrahams, 2007). Taken together, these findings make it clear that emotions impact leaders’ ability to engage in effective interpersonal exchanges.
The management of emotions has also been the subject of recent empirical research. Currently, management research is predominantly focused on two emotion theories: emotional intelligence and emotional regulation. Emotional intelligence (EI) consists of four distinct processes that uniquely contribute to one’s level of EI. The four processes are a) the accurate perception and expression of emotions, b) assimilation or the generation of emotions to assist in problem solving, c) the acquisition of emotional knowledge to stimulate growth/development, and d) the regulation of emotions in self and others (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). This EI model prescribes a two step training process. First, individuals assess their EI ability with the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), which is a multi-item paper-pencil test. Second, feedback is constructed based on one’s MSCEIT score and delivered by a professional with recommended training. However, the training has received limited empirical support and samples typically suffer from range restriction. Additionally, the training process is time and resource intensive.
Emotion regulation is the second approach that has recently gained momentum in the emotion management literature. According to Gross (2007), emotion regulation entails a set of processes employed to regulate intrinsic (i.e., within self) and extrinsic (i.e., within others) emotions with the goal to manage physiological commitments of emotional arousal (e.g., reducing stress levels in key situations) and emotion-related behavior (e.g., preventing maladaptive behavior in social contexts) (Eisenburg, 1998; Walden & Smith, 1997). This approach has two core aspects. First, regulation can include both negative and positive emotions. Second, regulatory processes can be both conscious and unconscious. Current regulation approaches include both cognitive (e.g., reframing the situation) and behavioral (e.g., deep, deliberate breathing) methods. The methods have shown various degrees of effectiveness. However, the literature is sparse on empirical research looking at the impact of context and stimulus on the effectiveness of a particular approach. Further, some researchers contend that that not all approaches are necessarily adaptive, which suggests the importance of considering both short-term and long-term effects prior to engaging in a regulatory process.
The current emotion management literature does not clarify which approach is best for managing emotions. First, each model describes different processes that an individual uses to manage emotions. However, the different processes appear to have some overlap with one another, which suggests an overarching model may exist. Second, the literature does not provide strong empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of a particular approach under different contexts and stimulus. Third, it is unclear what impact the instructional format (i.e., the presentation/organizational of information and medium to delivery material) has on learning. Taken together, the emotion management field would benefit from an overarching model that would guide empirical research and instructional development.
This topic is to solicit the development of a conceptual model of emotion management. The model will drive the creation of a multi-faceted emotion management training tool to train Army leaders on emotional skills needed in order to recognize and control self and others’ emotions in an interpersonal context. Development of the conceptual model will be guided by existing literature, which will provide the theoretical foundation of the training curriculum and medium. This training package will provide Army leaders with the necessary knowledge and skills to be able to effectively manage emotions of all participants during an interpersonal exchange. All training software/systems must be ADL/SCORM compliant.
PHASE I: The objective of Phase I is to develop the conceptual model of emotion management. The contractor should determine the key processes including knowledge and skills for emotion management as it relates to an interpersonal context. Development of the model should be derived from existing theoretical-based and empirical-based literature. In addition, the contractor will identify current training programs including organization of information and presentation medium.
PHASE II: Develop and validate an interactive, computer-based training tool to increase leaders’ emotion management skills in an interpersonal context. Training should include interpersonal exchange scenarios in which leaders learn and develop emotion management skills while interacting with subordinates, peers, and superiors. Training must comply with Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) standards.
PHASE III: Modifications to the leader emotion management module would result in a training system applicable to leader interpersonal contexts outside the U.S. Army (e.g., joint agency endeavors). This training could be marketed in a variety of military and civilian contexts in which individuals must routinely engage in interpersonal contexts in an effort to achieve organizational goals. This training could serve as a complement to current leader knowledge and skill training taught at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and other military education institutions.
REFERENCES:
1. Abrahams, D. S. (2007). Emotional intelligence and army leadership: Give it to me straight! Military Review, 2, 86-93.
2. Bar-On, R., Handley, R., & Fund, S. (2006). The impact of emotional intelligence on performance. In V. U. Druskat, F. Sala, & G. Mount (Eds.), Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: Current research evidence with individuals and groups (pp. 3-21). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
3. Department of Army, Headquarters (2006). Field Manual 6-22: Army leadership. Washington, D.C.
4. Eisenberg, N. (1998). Introduction. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 1-24). New York City, NY: Wiley Press.
5. Fitness, J. (2000). Anger in the workplace: An emotion script approach to anger episodes between workers and their superiors, co-workers, and subordinates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 147-162.
6. Gaddis, B., Connelly, S., & Mumford, M. (2004). Failure feedback as an affective event: Influences of leader affect on subordinate attitudes and performance. Leadership Quarterly, 15(5), 663-686.
7. Gross, J. J. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of Emotion Regulation (pp. 3-26). New York City, NY: Guilford Press.
8. Isen, A. M. & Labroo, A. A. (2003). Some Ways in Which Positive Affect Facilitates Decision Making and Judgment. In S. Schneider & J. Shanteau (Eds.), Emerging Perspectives on Judgment and Decision Research (pp. 365-393). New York City: NY, Cambridge Press.
9. Jordan, P., & Ashkanasy, N. (2006). Emotional intelligence, emotional self-awareness, and team effectiveness. In V. U. Druskat, F. Sala, & G. Mount (Eds.), Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: Current research evidence with individuals and groups (pp. 145-164). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
10. Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D.J. Sluyter (Eds.) Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence (pp. 3-31). New York: Basic Books.
11. Newcombe, M. J., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2002). The role of affect and affective congruence in perceptions of leaders: An experimental study. Leadership Quarterly, 13(5), 601-614.
12. Walden, T. A., & Smith, M. C. (1997). Emotion regulation. Motivation, 21, 7-25.
13. Wolf, S. B., Druskat, V. U., Koman, E. S., & Messer, T. E. (2006). The link between group emotional competence and group effectiveness. In V. U. Druskat, F. Sala, & G. Mount (Eds.), Linking emotional intelligence and performance at work: Current research evidence with individuals and groups (pp. 223-242). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
KEYWORDS: emotional processes, emotion regulation, leader influence, interpersonal exchanges
A08-T003 TITLE: Training Tools to Improve the Teaching and Coaching Skills of Military Advisors
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop and evaluate an innovative training system for improving military advisors’ ability to teach and coach their host nation counterparts from a different country. The training must be grounded in a theoretical framework that identifies the cross-cultural variables that impact the effectiveness of different advisor instructional approaches, as well as the cultural variables that influence host nation counterpart learning strategies and motivation.
DESCRIPTION: Recently, conventional Soldiers have had to assume the unconventional role of advisor and trainer to Iraqi and Afghan security forces. According to the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and supporting documents, military advisor teams and transition teams will play a larger role in all future military operations. To aid the development of these new advisor roles, the Joint Center for International Security Force Assistance (JCISFA) was established in 2006 to institutionalize best practices related to security force assistance missions. JCISFA requested the Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences’ (ARI) assistance in exploring new and innovative methods for training military advisors so that they can more effectively teach and coach their cross-cultural counterparts and units.
Military doctrine currently provides guidance on various methods to train host-nation security forces. Advisors assist their counterparts through formal schooling, mobile training teams, and partnership teams along with advisor teams (FM 3-24, 2007). Despite the importance of the advisor team mission, the current state of the art in training advisors primarily consists of classroom lectures using PowerPoint and limited opportunities for face-to-face role playing exercises. While this training is helpful to advisors, it is insufficient for fully preparing military advisors for their advising mission, primarily because the ways in which Westerners teach individuals from a Western culture may or may not be suited to the ways in which Westerners should teach their counterparts from the Middle East. A growing body of literature on culture and cross-cultural interactions strongly suggests that substantive cultural differences exist with respect to how individuals from different countries interpret and interact with their environment. Thus, to apply Western instructional approaches in the advisement and training of host nation counterparts may be misinformed or ill-advised. For example, the Cultural Lens Model suggests that individuals from different cultures are cognitively different, and these cognitive differences have implications for training (Klein, 2004). As another example, Gelfand, Erez, and Aycan (2007) noted that there are differences among cultures with respect to expectations of how feedback should be delivered and how different types of feedback are received. This suggests that, to be effective, advisors must be trained in how to best deliver feedback to their counterparts according to the counterparts’ cultural norms, not according to US standards. Gelfand et al. (2007) also noted that different cultures differ with respect to what is viewed as rewarding, suggesting that, in order to maintain sufficient motivation levels of their counterparts, advisors need to be able to ascertain what incentives are viewed as valuable in their host nation’s culture.
In both the military and the private sector, little focus has been placed on the instructional and learning differences that influence how one can best train an individual from another culture. To address this problem, the U.S. school system is beginning to make changes regarding cross-cultural instruction. Notably, certain states have begun to require teacher certifications and course work in multicultural education in order to improve the instruction of intercultural students (Cushner, K. 1994; Morrier, Irving, Dandy, Dmitriyev, & Ukeje, 2007). The military must begin to adopt this perspective, as well and train the U.S. trainers (i.e., advisors) on how to most effectively train their counterparts.
Before U.S. advisor training can be developed, however, a cross-cultural theoretical model must be developed that explicates the individual advisor differences, the individual counterpart differences, the situational factors, and cultural factors that impact both how advisors should teach/coach counterparts and the learning strategies and motivation levels of counterparts. Particular focus should be on Middle Eastern cultures, drawing from reports coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the growing body of empirical findings in the cross-cultural and multinational literatures. Because such a model does not currently exist, the development of this model would advance scientific and military understanding of cross-cultural factors in training and advising, and the application of this knowledge to training would represent cutting edge work in multinational training.
The objective of the advisor training is to provide U.S. advisors with effective instructional strategies to use with individuals from another culture, specifically those from the Middle East. Attention must be paid to language differences and communication difficulties within this setting. Although pioneering training solutions are encouraged, the training approach should conform to Department of Defense and Army standards for training.
PHASE I: Develop a theoretical model that identifies the individual advisor differences, the individual counterpart differences, the situational factors, and cultural factors that impact both how advisors should teach/coach counterparts and the learning strategies and motivation levels of counterparts. The theoretical model should lead to the identification of best practices for instruction; to relate those practices to learning theory; to develop a model that accounts for the success or failure of coaching strategies; and to describe learning style differences in a specific Middle Eastern culture. Recommendations should also be made for overcoming language and communication difficulties.
PHASE II: Offerors will develop and validate an innovative training program to improve the teaching and coaching skills of military advisors, taking into account cross-cultural differences in instructional methods, learning styles and communication difficulties. This topic encourages state-of-the-science approaches to training. However, training products should conform to the relevant Army regulations and Department of Defense guidance that guide the particular training approach proposed (e.g., TRADOC regulation 350-70, Sharable Content Object Reference Model/SCORM compliance, Section 508 compliance).
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: This training could be marketed and used in a variety of military and civilian applications in which individuals are required to interact and train cross-cultural groups. The theoretical model and practices derived from the theoretical model would be highly useful and marketable to organizations who engage in multinational training and global business endeavors.
REFERENCES:
1. Advanced Distributed Learning: SCORM. http://www.adlnet.gov/ and http://www.adlnet.gov/scorm/index.aspx accessed 6 June 2007.
2. Cushner, K. (1994). Preparing teachers for an intercultural context. In R. W. Brislin & T. Yoshida (Eds.), Improving intercultural interactions: Modules for cross-cultural training programs. Multicultural aspects of counseling. Series 3 (pp. 109-128). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
3. Department of the Army. (2006).Counterinsurgency (Field Manual 3-24). Washington, DC: Author.
4. Department of the Army. (1999). TRADOC regulation 350-70. Washington,
DC: Author.
5. Gelfand, M. J., Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. (2007). Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 479-514.
6. Klein, H. A. (2004). Cognition in natural settings: The cultural lens model. In Michael Kaplan (Ed.) Cultural ergonomics (pp. 249-280). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishers.
7. Morrier, M. J., Irving, M. A., Dandy, E., Dmitriyev, G. & Ukeje, I. C. (2007). Teaching and learning within and across cultures: Educator requirements across the United States. Multicultural Education, Spring, 32-40.
8. Section 508 website. http://www.section508.gov/. Accessed 6 June 2007.
KEYWORDS: teaching, instructional methods, cross-cultural, cross-cultural communication, multinational, culture
A08-T004 TITLE: Field/Circuit Computational Modeling and Simulation Software Tool
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop and demonstrate a field/circuit computational software tool capable of modeling complete communications systems including active devices, passive devices, and antennas.
DESCRIPTION: The trend toward increasing levels of integration and miniaturization in modern military communications devices has forced the co-design of antennas and other electromagnetic elements with the baseband and drive circuitry in order to achieve first-pass design success. The circuitry can include active and passive devices with nonlinear and time-varying characteristics. The antennas and other electromagnetic elements typically are embedded in complex structures and interact with the system packaging and other electronic components. Current commercial modeling and simulation software tools cannot handle this level of complexity, although over the past ten years a number of commercial and academic research programs have made significant progress towards this goal [1-7]. Conventional time-domain techniques such as the finite-difference time-domain method show degraded spatial convergence in the presence of complex geometries due to meshing requirements, and the presence of nonlinear components further degrades performance by introducing additional time instability. Frequency-domain techniques such as the finite-element method generally suffer even greater difficulty handling nonlinear components, despite having better spatial convergence.
This topic requests the development and demonstration of a field/circuit computational software tool capable of modeling complete communications systems including active devices, passive devices, and antennas. This tool will be capable of simultaneous high-fidelity time domain modeling of the performance of radio transceivers at the circuit level including components with nonlinear and dynamic characteristics, and at the system level including time-varying antenna radiation patterns. The ability to model the effect of external electromagnetic fields on the internal operation of radio circuitry will deepen understanding of the causes of co-site interference and lead to new mitigation strategies, which in turn will improve the performance of individual communications, sensor, and EW systems operating in a common environment.
Please note that this topic explicitly does not solicit development of equivalent circuit models for simulation of electromagnetic field effects, but rather the combination of separate tools for circuit modeling and electromagnetic field simulation into a single simulation environment. Also note that this topic explicitly will not support development of a graphical user interface for problem setup and data display, and so the computational engines should be compatible with available open source GUI software [8]. The resulting software modeling and simulation tool must be verified and validated by comparison with results from analytical and other numerical techniques, and by comparison with data from a set of well-chosen experiments.
PHASE I: Develop, or identify and select, appropriate software components for circuit modeling and electromagnetic field simulation. Formulate a scheme to combine the components in order to perform the topic task. Demonstrate feasibility by generating simulation results on a simple circuit/antenna combination. Develop and deliver a constructive work plan for the development of a complete prototype commercial package in Phase II.
PHASE II: Develop and demonstrate a complete commercial prototype of the field/circuit computational software tool based on Phase I results. Verify and validate the prototype tool by comparison with results from analytical and other numerical techniques, and by comparison with data from a set of well-chosen experiments.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The technology developed under this topic will enable significant reduction in the design cycle time of Mobile Wireless Communications systems (as defined in the Army Science and Technology Master Plan) by enabling accurate prediction of radio system performance including antenna effects, and will bring similar benefit to system development for applications in commercial wireless networking and communications.
REFERENCES:
1. K. Fujimori, N. Kawashima, M. Sanagi, and S. Nogi, An efficient LE-FDTD method for the analysis of the active integrated circuit and antenna mounted non-linear devices, IEICE Transactions on Electronics, v.E90C, n.9, p.1776-1783, September 2007
2. M. Sasaki, Design of a millimeter-wave CMOS radiation oscillator with an above-chip patch antenna, IEEE Transactions on Circuits And Systems II-Express Briefs, v.53, n.10, p.1128-1132, October 2006
3. A.E. Yilmaz, J.M. Jin, and E. Michielssen, Parallel FFT accelerated transient field-circuit simulator, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, v.53, n.9, p.2851-2865, September 2005
4. H. Wu and A.C. Cangellaris, Model-order reduction of finite-element approximations of passive electromagnetic devices including lumped electrical-circuit models, IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, v.52, n.9, p.2305-2313, September 2004
5. M.B. Steer, Multi physics multi scale modeling of microwave circuits and systems hybridizing circuit, electromagnetic and thermal modeling, 15th International Conference on Microwaves, Radar and Wireless Communications, MIKON-2004, v.3, p.1097-1105, May 2004
6. Xue Min Xu and Qing Huo Liu, Fast electromagnetic modeling for electronic packaging in layered media, Electrical Performance of Electronic Packaging 2001, p.181-184, October 2001
7. J.W. Schuster, R.J. Luebbers, and T.G. Livernois, Application of the recursive convolution technique to modeling lumped circuit elements in FDTD simulations, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 1998. v.4. p.1792-1795, June 1998
8. See for example GiD (http://gid.cimne.upc.es/) and the Enthought Tool Suite (http://code.enthought.com/), among others
KEYWORDS: Computational electromagnetics, circuit simulation, multi-physics modeling and simulation
A08-T005 TITLE: Trustworthy Execution of Security-Sensitive Code on Un-trusted Systems
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this STTR is to research and develop a mechanism for trustworthy execution of security-sensitive software on un-trusted systems that may be compromised by malicious code (malware).
DESCRIPTION: Computing systems are routinely targeted by a wide variety of malwares, such as spyware, trojans, rootkits, and viruses. The presence of exploitable vulnerabilities and the availability of tools for constructing exploit code has reduced the amount of effort required for attackers to introduce malware into computing systems. Moreover, the monetary incentive motivates attackers to adopt increasingly sophisticated attack methods. The problem of intrusion by malware is further compounded by ever increasing network connectivity, which enables attacks to be launched remotely and facilitates the swift attack propagation to vulnerable computing systems. Quite often users may be unaware that their computing systems have been compromised and continue to use a wide variety of security-sensitive applications. This leads to ever increasing cases of corporate data leakage, private or personal information theft, fraud and financial losses. There is a critical requirement to develop a safe execution guarantee for security-sensitive software on un-trusted systems. The goal of this STTR is to develop new and deployable assurance technologies that can achieve the followings:
1) Assured execution of security-sensitive software:
New mechanisms must be developed to isolate the execution of security-sensitive software from all malwares that may be present on an un-trusted system. This isolation must be achieved without relying on potentially vulnerable mechanisms, such as operating system based protections.
2) Simple and transparent deployment:
The software isolation mechanisms must be easily deployable on a wide range of computing platforms, with no requirement on hardware modification.
3) Trusted verification:
There must be a simple and trusted way for the user to determine and verify that the security-sensitive software has been executed safely.
PHASE I: a. Identify and develop the techniques required to achieve isolated code execution on un-trusted systems;
b. Demonstrate the ideas by implementing a prototype system on a specific or a small subset of computing platforms.
PHASE II: a. Extend the prototype implementation on major computing systems.
b. Design and develop simple and trustworthy user notification mechanisms to indicate the safe execution of security sensitive software
PHASE III: (Dual use product development)
Un-tampered execution of security-sensitive software on a general computing platform is important for both military and commercial application. The developed technology must be converted into a product that can be used on both military and civilian computer systems. For example, the solution developed under this STTR will allow trusted online banking without worrying that the account information including username and password will be stolen by potential malicious code present on the host computer. The safe execution capability will also provide a high level of assurance to many security-sensitive DoD applications.
KEYWORDS: Safe software execution, software isolation, trusted computing platforms, defense against malicious code
A08-T006 TITLE: Optimized Human Performance: Mitochondrial Energetics
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Human Systems
OBJECTIVE: Develop metabolic supplements to optimize adenosine triphosphate production in eukaryotes.
DESCRIPTION: The modern Army is constrained by biology. Highly qualified and very experienced soldiers routinely leave the Army because they are old; their physical and/or cognitive performance capabilities are significantly less than that of a 20 year old. The biological basis of this reduction in performance capability may be an injury, but in most cases is simply due to the reduced efficiency of old mitochondria, resulting in reduced levels of energy (adenosine triphosphate) provided to the body to power cognitive and physical tasks. The ability to stimulate mitochondrial energy production would extend the time that soldiers remain fit for duty, boost soldier physical and performance capabilities, and expand the age range of suitable recruits. It would also eliminate the current dichotomy of the ideal soldier being optimized both for youth (high performance capabilities) and experience.
The past twenty years have seen a revolutionary breakthrough in understanding how mitochondria function. Human mitochondria are a network of approximately 2,000 proteins, exquisitely integrated into a larger network of approximately 100,000 cellular proteins, and again functionally integrated into a larger network of 3 billion cells. All of the corresponding genes have been cloned and sequenced. The biochemical basis of oxidative phosphorylation is well understood and genetic polymorphisms leading to altered energetics and performance capabilities are well documented. The scientific understanding and the technology to undertake high throughput screening to identify compounds that affect mitochondria is now possible.
PHASE I: Design, construct, and demonstrate proof of concept function for a high throughput assay to screen for compounds that increase mitochondrial copy number and/or the efficiency of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Identify libraries of compounds that will be tested in phase II. Establish a methodology for follow-up characterization of active compounds.
PHASE II: Screen libraries of compounds for stimulatory effects on mitochondrial copy number and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Characterize active compounds using genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and biochemical approaches.
PHASE III DUAL USE COMMERCIALIZATION: The world contains approximately 4.2 billion people over the age of twenty. Even a small enhancement of cognitive capacity in these individuals would probably have an impact on the world economy rivaling that of the internet. The commercial market for a compound that could reverse the effects of aging on human energetics would be more than significant. The cost of Social Security in the U.S. is expected to approach 7% of the gross domestic product (GDP); reducing this cost by any significant degree would also have substantial impact on federal obligations and expenditures.
REFERENCES:
1. Balaban, R.S. Nemoto, S., and Finkel, T. 2005. Mitochondria, oxidants, and aging. Cell 120(4):483-95.
2. Beal, M.F. 2005. Mitochondria take center stage in aging and neurodegeneration. Ann Neurol 58(4):495-505.
3. Huang, H. and Manton, K.G. 2004. The role of oxidative damage in mitochondria during aging. Front Biosci 9:1100-17.
4. Lee, H.C. and Wei, Y.H. 1997. Role of mitochondria in human aging. J Biomed Sci 4(6):319-26.
5. Lenaz, G., Bovina, C., D’Aurelio, M., Fato, R., Formiggini, G., Genova, M.L., Giuliano, G., Merlopich, M., Paolucci, U., Castelli, G., and Ventura B. 2002. Role of mitochondria in oxidative stress and aging. Ann N Y Acad Sci 959:199-213.
6. Linford, N.J., Schriner, S.E., and Robinovitch, P.S. 2006. Oxidative damage and aging: spotlight on mitochondria. Cancer Res 1:66(5):2497-9.
7. Navarro, A., and Boveris, A. 2004. Rat brain and liver mitochondria develop oxidative stress and lose enzymatic activities on aging. Am J. Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 287(5):1244-9.
KEYWORDS: mitochondria, oxidative phosphorylation
A08-T007 TITLE: Liquid Metal Anodes for a JP-8 Fuel Cell
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Materials/Processes
OBJECTIVE: Develop, characterize, evaluate, and optimize a 500 W liquid metal anode fuel cell generator utilizing electrochemical oxidation of JP-8 fuel.
DESCRIPTION: The Army has need for compact electrical generators in the 200-500 W level for use as squad-level battery chargers. The energy requirements for battery charging will require a power supply fed with an energy-dense liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Presently, methanol is the liquid fuel of choice for fuel cell power systems in this power range, but it will need to be packaged and a new logistic supply chain set in place. In contrast, JP-8 is a high-energy density liquid fuel available to the soldier, but its electrochemical oxidation in a fuel cell is problematic. Presently, there is only one fuel cell technology that has demonstrated sustainable and sulfur-tolerant electrochemical oxidation of JP-8. Tao et al (1) discuss a high-temperature (~1000 C) ceramic oxide-conducting electrolyte fuel cell that employs a novel liquid tin anode that affects electrochemical oxidation of JP-8. The liquid tin and its soluble oxides are imbibed within an inert porous separator and contacted on one face with vaporized JP-8 and on the other face with a zirconia electrolyte. An oxygen-reducing electrode adjacent the opposite side of the zirconia electrolyte completes the fuel-cell circuit. Oxides formed at the tin-electrolyte interface are transported to the fuel side of the tin layer where they oxidize the fuel with commensurate electron flow through the tin conductor to the anode current collector (hence, so-called “indirect electrochemical oxidation” of the fuel occurs). There are many variables yet to be fully explored in this approach that will effect the efficacy of the liquid-metal anode fuel cell, such as choice of liquid metal (others in addition to tin may be appropriate); liquid-metal film thickness; material and physical properties of the inert separator material (porosity, pore size, pore density, …); oxide-conducting electrolyte; air cathode; temperature, etc. The purpose of this topic is to explore the relevant parameter space and develop a sulfur-tolerant liquid-anode JP-8 fuel cell power generator based upon an understanding of the fundamental physicochemical phenomena that dictate its operation.
PHASE I: Identify and evaluate candidate liquid metal anodes for electrochemical oxidation of JP-8 in an oxide-conductor fuel cell. Characterize relevant physicochemical processes and parameters that affect the efficiency of the indirect electrochemical oxidation p