Digital Commons Network^™

T-Birrd: Transforming The Future Of Military And Humanitarian Logistics, Jacob R. Bright

Joint Force Quarterly

Terrestrial Based Inserted Rocket Resource Delivery (T-BIRRD), Also Known as “Rocket Cargo” or “Point to Point Delivery”, represents a significant leap in the field of logistics, leveraging the capabilities of large commercial rockets to enhance the responsiveness and effectiveness of military operations and humanitarian efforts. This paper delves into the strategic advantages, operational controls, and legal implications associated with the use of T-BIRRD, framing it as a critical evolution in logistical practices.

This paper refers to the capability of rocket cargo delivery as T-BIRRD, a name chosen for its specificity, and clear differentiation from existing systems using rockets to deliver …

Finding Deepfakes: A Tabletop Exercise About Ai, Decisionmaking, And Algorithmic Performance, Andrea Brennan, Gwyneth Sutherlin, Lisa Pagano-Wallace, Hermie Mendoza

Joint Force Quarterly

This article explores a first-of-its-kind tabletop exercise designed to expose U.S. military and national security professionals to the real-world challenges of using AI tools like deepfake detectors in high-stakes decisionmaking. Set in a fictional scenario involving a flawed AI system, participants confronted algorithmic bias, technical uncertainty, and ethical dilemmas, revealing how AI limitations can erode trust in intelligence products. Drawing from student and faculty reflections, the article highlights the importance of preparing future leaders to scrutinize and manage AI performance failures not only as technical bugs but as complex, systemic issues with social and operational consequences. The exercise underscored the …

The Philosophical Foundations Of The Civil-Military Relationship, John Mark Mattox

Joint Force Quarterly

This article reexamines civil-military relations through a philosophical lens, arguing that they are far more complex than simple military subordination to civilian authority. Drawing on foundational models from Hobbes, Plato, medieval Christendom, and Clausewitz, it reveals a recurring tripartite structure of society: rulers, warriors, and citizens bound together by mutual responsibility and moral obligation. From Plato’s emphasis on virtue and justice to Clausewitz’s "paradoxical trinity" of people, military, and government, the article shows that the strength of any state depends on trust and collaboration among all three. True civil-military relations, it concludes, must be understood as a dynamic moral partnership …

Rightsizing The Pla Air Force: Revisiting An Analytic Framework, Lauren Edson, Phillip C. Saunders

Joint Force Quarterly

This article evaluates the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) from 2007 to 2025 using the Saunders-Quam framework, which identifies four core trade-offs: changes in roles and missions, domestic versus foreign procurement, high-tech versus low-tech systems, and combat versus support aircraft. While the framework remains a useful analytical tool, it underestimated the Chinese Communist Party’s willingness to fund expensive modernization efforts and the rapid advancements in China’s defense industrial base. The article identifies key factors missing from the original framework such as doctrinal shifts, increased emphasis on counterintervention, maritime expansion, and the rise of unmanned systems. It …

Is Mobilization A Major Question?, Evan J. Ward

Joint Force Quarterly

The combination of the Supreme Court’s new Major Questions doctrine and its decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo threatens to hobble the Executive Branch’s ability to effect a major mobilization under the Defense Production Act. The Defense Production Act followed the War Powers Acts of WWII to consolidate and update the presidential powers that were so famously marshaled to mobilize the arsenal of democracy. The Department of Defense has long planned to rely on Defense Production Act authority to mobilize should the need arise, but the risk of litigation brought about by new legal developments means that the authorities the …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 118, 3rd Quarter 2025, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

This issue of Joint Force Quarterly addresses key strategic, operational, and doctrinal questions shaping the future of the joint force. Articles examine mobilization as a strategic imperative, PLA Air Force modernization, Southeast Asia’s geographic role in U.S. defense strategy, and leader development for strategic lethality. Contributions also explore AI’s role in detecting deepfakes, the civil-military relationship, and innovations in military logistics and cyber force design. A retrospective on the Joint Warfighting Concept and critical reviews of recent defense literature provide context and continuity. Collectively, these pieces offer insight into how the joint force must evolve to meet emerging challenges.

Natural Language Based Intuitive Business Intelligence Tool For End Users, Nilesh Patel, Naresh Jasotani

Defensive Publications Series

This disclosure describes a natural language processing (NLP)-based business intelligence (BI) tool designed to help business users analyze structured data without requiring technical expertise. The tool helps overcome challenges faced by business users, such as reliance on technical teams for data access, the complexity of traditional BI tools, and the need for technical skills to interact with databases. The NLP-based tool performs automated relationship discovery for entities within a data store, enables automated prompt and query generation, provides business-oriented data views in an intuitive user interface for data exploration, question asking, and report generation. Implementation of the tool removes the …

A System For Predictive Crowd Management Using Coupled Analysis Of Crowd State And Environmental Information, Mithun Kumar S R

Defensive Publications Series

Some crowd management systems analyze crowd dynamics, such as density and flow, in isolation from the physical environment. The disclosed system can couple a Dynamic Crowd State Vector, which may quantify real-time crowd metrics, with a Hyper-Local Condition Vector, which may quantify environmental factors such as surface integrity, passage width, and lighting. A machine learning model can process the real-time interaction between these two vectors to generate a unified, predictive risk score for a specific geographic zone. The resulting coupled analysis may facilitate the proactive identification of context-specific hazards, such as moderate crowds in some conditions, which may aid in …

Color-Coded Lane Guidance System For Dynamic Traffic Flow Optimization, Jacques Mouton

Defensive Publications Series

Traffic flow can be sub-optimal when drivers lack real-time, lane-specific information. This disclosure describes a system for dynamic lane guidance, for example, within a navigation application on a computing device (e.g., a smartphone, smart watch, wearable device, augmented reality glasses, an in-vehicle infotainment system, etc.). In some implementations, the system can utilize a probabilistic inference engine, such as a Bayesian inference engine, to analyze multiple data sources. These sources may include real-time traffic data, historical data, predictive models, and crowdsourced information. This analysis can be used to calculate a probability of congestion, delay, and/or accident risk for individual lanes. These …

Verifying Ownership Of Online Profiles And Web Sites For Creators And Publishers, Nick Krasney, Yi Li, Govind Kaushal

Defensive Publications Series

Verifying that a single creator or publisher controls multiple disparate online properties, such as websites and social media profiles, can be a challenge. Existing methods may rely on bilateral agreements between platforms, which may not be scalable and can create friction. This disclosure describes a decentralized cryptographic method for verifying ownership. A creator may generate a unique public-private key pair and can use the private key to sign the canonical URL of each online property, creating a digital signature. The creator can then provide the public key and the corresponding digital signature to each platform, which may embed this information …

Techniques For Detecting Contraflow On Divided Roadways And Adjusting Vehicle Routes, Daniel Klein

Defensive Publications Series

Navigation systems may encounter routing anomalies when one side of a divided highway is closed, for example for construction, and traffic is temporarily rerouted into a two-way flow on the remaining side. In such situations, detecting the temporary traffic pattern can allow a navigation system to avoid providing erroneous instructions, such as "make a U-turn" or undesirable detours. A disclosed method relates to using aggregated geospatial data, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) data, and traffic flow data to detect these temporary traffic patterns. A system can identify anomalies such as a threshold number of vehicles traveling on the "wrong" …

Continuous Private Location Tracking Of Mobile Devices Using Satellite Communications And Other Infrastructure, N/A

Defensive Publications Series

Some existing location tracking methods may not provide reliable, real-time data for mobile devices in environments with limited or no cellular connectivity, such as over air and sea. The disclosed system can address this by using a hybrid communication method that may dynamically switch between networks such as satellite (satcom), wireless local area networks (WLAN), cellular, and other networks. The system may employ virtual geofences to trigger location updates, which can help optimize power consumption. During periods of no connectivity, a predictive analytics model may estimate the device’s position by integrating device sensor data, historical travel patterns, and external data …

Tabular Search: A System For Comparative Query Answering With Iterative Criteria Filtering, Ben Murdoch, Yi Li

Defensive Publications Series

Some search engines may be less efficient at answering comparative queries that require filtering based on specific user-defined constraints, sometimes returning less relevant results. A disclosed method describes an approach for this scenario by constructing and refining a virtual table of options. The system can take an input query, a list of informational needs, and a list of filtering criteria. It can then discover an initial set of potential options and iteratively perform targeted web searches for each one to gather the required information and verify compliance with each criterion. This process allows for the elimination of unsuitable candidates and …

Dynamic Asset Allocation For Spending, Quinn Johnson, Joseph Johnson, Jr.

Defensive Publications Series

Spending appreciating assets, such as digital assets or securities, may create an opportunity cost, as their future value could exceed their present value. This can present a challenge for users who wish to spend from their investment portfolios for daily needs. This disclosure describes a method for dynamic asset allocation within a digital wallet. A system can analyze a user's portfolio of diverse assets (e.g., digital assets, stocks, cash) using an algorithm that can combine machine learning, technical analysis, and sentiment analysis to project future returns. To reduce opportunity cost, the system can automatically select assets with a lower projected …

Examining Sustainable Materials: Enhancing Indoor Air Quality For Office Interiors, Ayah Eldeeb, Asmaa Elantary

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

As awareness of environmental issues grows, the demand for healthier workspaces has led to an increased focus on sustainable building materials in office interiors. This study explores how these materials influence indoor air quality (IAQ) and the overall health of occupants. Through a qualitative analysis of multiple case studies from various regions, it is found that offices using sustainable materials, like low-emission paints and natural fiber insulation, showed a 30% improvement in IAQ compared to traditional settings. Additionally, essential criteria are identified for selecting sustainable materials, such as embodied energy and local sourcing. The findings offer practical recommendations for designers …

Igda Foundation Alumni Weekend: Multiclassing For Better Leadership, Matthew Dyet

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This talk was presented at the IGDA Foundation Alumni Weekend, an annual event that is run by and for recipients of the IGDA Foundation scholarship. The talk covered the fundamentals of leadership through the lens of multiclassing as covered in my book, Great Games Need Great Leaders.

Conceptualizing The Research Cycle For The Field Of Materials Science And Engineering, Jennifer L.W. Carter

Faculty Scholarship

Abstract: Early-career materials researchers often receive guidance from their individual advisors on best practices for conducting research, but the materials science community lacks an explicit model of the research process. As a result, the lived experience of an individual researcher can be quite different from their peers since they may be exposed to a different unique set of implicit research steps. In this article, we translate an existing research heuristic from other fields and make explicit the steps, methodologies, and strategies materials science engineering researchers utilize to advance our collective materials science knowledge. This newly proposed research cycle can improve …

Conceptualizing The Research Cycle For The Field Of Materials Science And Engineering, Jennifer Carter

Faculty Scholarship

Early-career materials researchers often receive guidance from their individual advisors on best practices for conducting research, but the materials science community lacks an explicit model of the research process. As a result, the lived experience of an individual researcher can be quite different from their peers since they may be exposed to a different unique set of implicit research steps. In this article, we translate an existing research heuristic from other fields and make explicit the steps, methodologies, and strategies materials science engineering researchers utilize to advance our collective materials science knowledge. This newly proposed research cycle can improve the …

Exploring K-12 Teachers’ Definitions And Perspectives Of Cybersecurity, Gina Childers, Weverton Ataide Pinheiro, Oluwatosin Daramola, C Lindsay Linsky, Bryson Payne, Jack Byers, Daniel Baker

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Because K-12 teachers have access to private educational data, they are increasingly at risk of being affected by cybersecurity threats. Examining how teachers conceptualize cybersecurity is vital so that cybersecurity training can be tailored to teachers’ understanding of cybersecurity. This study examined K-12 teachers’ (n = 255) personalized definitions of cybersecurity as these perceptions may influence online behaviors. These definitions were also reviewed by teacher type (cybersecurity teacher or non-cybersecurity teacher), teacher self-identified gender, and teacher age. The cybersecurity definitions were aligned and contextualized within a modified NICE Framework Core with a specific focus on three areas: protection and monitoring, …

A Review Of Automation In Small Satellite Operations, Joseph Melville, Andrew Narvaez, Lee Jasper

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

In the context of congested orbital space, the proliferation of small satellite constellations aims to enhance resilience and responsiveness in on-orbit systems. The escalating number and diversity of small satellites and the need for intersatellite coordination pose operational challenges. Chief among these challenges is that the quantity of operators needed to fully utilize these deployed systems is prohibitively large and expensive; further, operators simply may not be responsive enough to events.

Automated systems, both on-board and ground-based, offer a viable solution to streamline various operational tasks. The integration of automation mitigates the operational burden, minimizes errors originating from human intervention, …

A Machine Learning Approach To Quantitative X-Ray Diffraction Analysis, Spencer Snow Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD) is a powerful method in material sciences that gives insights into the atomical and crystallographic structure of a material, revealing information into the material's properties and suitability for industrial and scientific application. In geology, XRPD analysis is frequently leveraged to identify and quantify the present mineral phases in an unknown mixture. Despite it's widespread use, interpreting XRPD patterns requires highly-specialized knowledge, making the analysis largely dependent upon the background experience of the analyst. To assist experts, computational methods have been developed over the years. Some of these techniques involve fitting diffraction patterns using pseudo-Voigt functions, which …

The Potential Of Microbial Fuel Cells As A Dual Solution For Sustainable Wastewater Treatment And Energy Generation: A Case Study, Shajjadur Rahman Shajid, Monjur Mourshed, Md. Golam Kibria, Bahman Shabani

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Student Publications and Presentations

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are bio-electrochemical systems that harness microorganisms to convert organic pollutants in wastewater directly into electricity, offering a dual solution for sustainable wastewater treatment and renewable energy generation. This paper presents a holistic techno-economic and environmental feasibility assessment of largescale MFC deployment in Dhaka’s industrial zone, Bangladesh, as a relevant case study. Here, treating 100,000 cubic meters of wastewater daily would require a capital investment of approximately USD 500 million, with a total project cost ranging between USD 307.38 million and 1.711 billion, depending on system configurations. This setup has an estimated theoretical energy recovery of 478.4 …

Appreciating Dissonance: Using Open Appreciative Inquiry As A Tool To Generate Cultural Change, Charles Dorr, Sheena Asthana, Julian Elston, Felix Gradinger, Daniel Preece, David Schwartz, Gemma Scott, Gary Wallace, Ruth Harrell

More Faculty of Health Research

Appreciative inquiry has become increasingly popular as a method for facilitating organisational or systemic change through focusing on the positive aspects and ‘life giving properties of a system’ as opposed to traditional ‘deficit-based’ approaches. However, there has been criticism that this process could invalidate negative experiences of organisations and/or systems. This is particularly problematic if an existing system is seen by its users as providing little value or if there is potential dissonance regarding system value among key stakeholders. Using two case studies of open appreciative inquiry by Plymouth City Council staff, this article outlines how the use of a …

Ghost Highway: De-Touring Albuquerque's Route 66, Madison A. Garay

Art & Art History ETDs

Route 66 was a U.S. Numbered Highway stretching from Chicago, IL to Santa Monica, CA, rising to fame through music and popular culture. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Route 66 has a troublesome twin life as Central Avenue, a highly politicized space where bodies are contested. In this thesis, the function of public arts and architecture of Albuquerque’s main street thoroughfare, Central Avenue, will be analyzed as visual devices of U.S. Highway 66, or known in popular culture as “Route 66.” I employ a critical Derridean framework through Mark Fisher’s theorization of hauntology and Gerald Vizenor (White Earth Ojibwe)’s theory of …

Macroscopic Roughness Modeling Of Satellite Multi-Layer Insulation Reflectance, Kevin P. Donnelly

Theses

Reflectance modeling of specular surfaces with irregular geometries remains difficult to solve for an array of applications. In the growing space industry, there are many spacecraft materials with high specularity and varying levels of roughness. Modeling these materials in simulations becomes difficult as any realistic amount of roughness is added, necessitating more accurate physical models to represent how light is interacting with these surfaces. While some work has been done to attempt to characterize the spectral signatures of the materials themselves using hyperspectral imaging systems, the scope of these efforts has been fairly limited and not representative of the conditions …

Math 112 At Byu: Student Averages On Various Exam Questions, Makayla Mcleod

Theses and Dissertations

In Math 112 at BYU, exams play a crucial role in evaluating students' understanding of the course content. Traditionally, these exams are a combination of multiple-choice and free-response questions, with the latter serving as a means to assess a student's thought process while solving problems. Will students perform as well on a multiple-choice exam? Or will students' averages be higher on free-response exams? In this thesis, we test 7 hypotheses related to these questions to provide more insight into the answer. We examine other factors that may affect students' averages, including various Calculus 1 topics, modes of questioning, and difficulty …

Faktor Yang Berhubungan Dengan Keluhan Heat Strain Pada Pekerja Overhaul Tangki Di Pt. X Kota Balikpapan, Bratarini Hassya Chilwindwi, Iwan Muhamad Ramdan, Dewi Novita Hardianti, Muhammad Sultan, Ida Ayu Indira Dwika Lestari

National Journal of Occupational Health and Safety

Heat strain is a physiological reaction of the body that functions to release excess heat through sweat output, increased body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and weight loss. PT X is a company that operates in the oil and gas sector. The results of the study found that the workload was not appropriate and the incidence of work accidents that occurred due to fatigue. This study was conducted to see the heat strain complaints experienced by tank overhaul workers in the Oil Refinery Area of PT. X Balikpapan City and the associated factors. This research applied quantitative method with analytical …

The Construction Of Ph- And Temperature-Responsive Drug Delivery Systems Based On Metal Organic Frameworks And Phase Change Materials, Wanying Wei

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, core-shell microparticles were synthesized using coaxial electrospray techniques, with Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 encapsulating either Rhodamine B or Doxorubicin in the core. ZIF-8 is a material well regarded for its effectiveness in drug delivery systems. Phase change materials are composed of a 4:1 mixture of lauric acid and stearic acid in the shell. The PCM chosen has a melting point close to physiological body temperature. The structural morphology and thermal stability of the microparticles were confirmed using Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Thermogravimetric Analysis, and Infrared Spectroscopy. The release of the drug was influenced by …

High- Speed Wireless Interference Separation Based On Photonic Deep Learning Accelerators And Three-Dimensional Image Reconstruction For Medical Applications, Taichu Shi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is centered on fast wideband interference management through advanced photonic signal processing and hybrid communication architectures. The core of this work is based on an optical pulse sampling technique proposed for photonic blind source separation (BSS) to recover wideband signals from their sub-Nyquist samples. With the use of ultra-short optical pulses to obtain statistically representative samples, this method retains important statistical properties of the signals while significantly reducing constraints imposed by analog to digital conversion and digital signal processing. Building on this foundation, we further apply the photonic BSS system within a hybrid free space optical (FSO) and …

Exploring The Effect Of Led-To-Photodetector Spacing On Subcutaneous Photoplethysmography For Continuous Blood Pressure Measurement, Dario Cabal, Brian Nguyen, David B. Green, Kevin Kilgore, Varun Thakkar, Michael J. Fu, Steve J. Majerus

Student Scholarship

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is widely used to measure heart rate, blood oxygenation, and more recently, blood pressure. Implanted PPG systems offer the possibility to measure similar real-time measures of cardiovascular health, however, the detection method may vary due to a lack of capillary vessels for PPG sensors to observe in muscle tissue. To improve volumetric blood detection in large muscles, without relying on the capillary density of skin, a flexible PPG sensor was developed. The sensor included multiple spacing of illuminating infrared (IR) light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a single IR photodetector. This arrangement was expected to enable detection of blood …