Author: John D. Lowrance

  • Toward Culturally Informed Option Awareness for Influence Operations with S-CAT

    The Socio-Cultural Analysis Tool (S-CAT) is being developed to help decision makers better understand the plausible effects of actions taken in situations where the impact of culture is both significant and subtle.

  • Capturing Culture and Effects Variables Using Structured Argumentation

    We describe the intended use of S-CAT on an illustrative use case, and discuss our use of structured argumentation as a representation technique to capture both culture variables and effects variables.

  • A Framework for Evidential-Reasoning Systems

    Both the formal basis and a framework for the implementation of automated reasoning systems based upon these techniques are presented. The formal and practical approaches are divided into four parts.

  • Template-Based Structured Argumentation

    Collaborative analysis is supported via simultaneous access to arguments through web browser clients connected to a common argument server.

  • Graphical Manipulation of Evidence in Structured Arguments

    A semiautomated approach to evidential reasoning uses template-based structured argumentation. Graphical depictions convey lines of reasoning, from evidence through to conclusions.

  • Computer-Mediated Collaborative Reasoning and Intelligence Analysis

    We introduce a framework spanning the entire collaborative thought process using the Angler and SEAS (Structured Evidential Argumentation System) applications. Angler encourages creative brainstorming while SEAS demands analytical reasoning. The dual nature of this approach suggests substantial benefits from using computer-mediated collaborative and structured reasoning tools for intelligence analysis and policymaking.

  • Software Supported Pattern Development in Intelligence Analysis

    This paper describes the GEM pattern language for encoding analysts’ information needs in graphical patterns, and its use in the Link Analysis Workbench (LAW) system to find inexact matches to those patterns in large relational data sets.

  • Advanced Patterns and Matches in Link Analysis

    The Link Analysis Workbench (LAW) is a tool for detecting and monitoring situations of interest using inexact matching of graphical patterns.

  • Fostering Collaboration with a Semantic Index over Textual Contributions

    We are exploring new approaches to facilitating effective collaboration that remove or reduce common barriers and that exploit opportunities to encourage more effective collaboration, including transcending the cognitive biases of the participants.

  • A Collaborative Framework for Managing Uncertainty and Cognitive Bias

  • Angler: Collaboratively Expanding your Cognitive Horizon

    The tool helps the group through the process of forming consensus, while preserving and quantifying differing ways of thinking. Angler provides a Web-based collaborative environment that allows users distributed by both time and geography to assemble in teams, with the help of a facilitator.

  • Human-aided multi-sensor fusion

    This paper discusses some fundamental requirements for a human-aided multi-sensor fusion system, and proposes an approach that implements such a system. This approach involves integration of the probabilistic argumentation system and the structural evidential argumentation system, which both are variants of the Dempster-Shafer belief function theory.