NATO - Virtual Reality State of Military Research and Applications in Member Countries (2003)

Abstract

NATO Research Study Group 28 RSG 28, flow Human Factors and Medicine, HFM-2l, was established to 1 identify human factors issues involved in the use of VR technology for military purposes 2 determine the state of knowledge with regard to those issues and 3 recommend a research agenda that will address critical questions and enable effective products to be produced to meet the militarys needs. HFM-21 has adopted the following definition for its use of the term Virtual Reality Virtual Reality is the experience of being in a synthetic environment and the perceiving and interacting through sensors and effectors, actively and passively, with it and the objects in it, as if they were real. Virtual Reality technology allows the user to perceive and experience sensory contact and interact dynamically with such contact in any or all modalities. This is the final report of the Research Study Group RSG on Virtual Reality Applications. A summary is presented of three conferences Workshop on Human Performance Metrics, at Chertsey, Surrey, UK, 15 October 1996 Conference on The Capability Of Virtual Reality To Meet Military Requirements, at Orlando, Florida, USA on 4, 5 8 December 1997 and Conference on Industry Capability at The Hague, The Netherlands on 13 - 15 April 2000. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations presented in this report. In addition, member nations present a summary of where they were in VR when RSG-28 was established, and where they are as HFM-21 draws to a close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NIC - Global Trends. Mapping the Global Future 2020 Project (2004)

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At no time since the formation of the Western alliance system in 1949 have the shape and nature of international alignments been in such a state of flux. The end of the Cold War shifted the tectonic plates, but the repercussions from these momentous events are still unfolding. Emerging powers in Asia, retrenchment in Eurasia, a roiling Middle East, and transatlantic divisions are among the issues that have only come to a head in recent years. The very magnitude and speed of change resulting from a globalizing world—apart from its precise character—will be a defining feature of the world out to 2020. Other significant characteristics include: the rise of new powers, new challenges to governance, and a more pervasive sense of insecurity, including terrorism. As we map the future, the prospects for increasing global prosperity and the limited likelihood of great power conflict provide an overall favorable environment for coping with what are otherwise daunting challenges. The role of the United States will be an important variable in how the world is shaped, influencing the path that states and
nonstate actors choose to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NIU - A World Emerging from Pandemic: Implications for Intelligence and National Security (2022)

 

 

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This edited volume explores how the COVID pandemic has impacted-and will continue to impact-the U.S. Intelligence Community. Authors from multiple disciplines probe the ways in which pandemic-associated conditions interact with national security problem sets. This work presents evidence-based, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods analyses so their projections can be tested against future conditions. This project is the result of a cooperative effort between National Intelligence University and the Pentagon’s Joint Staff Strategic Multilayer Assessment office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US Department of Defense - Operation Northwoods (Unclassified, 1962)

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Operation Northwoods was a proposed false flag operation against American citizens that originated within the US Department of Defense of the United States government in 1962. The proposals called for CIA operatives to both stage and commit acts of violent terrorism against American military and civilian targets, blaming them on the Cuban government, and using it to justify a war against Cuba. The possibilities detailed in the document included the remote control of civilian aircraft which would be secretly repainted as US Air Force planes, a fabricated 'shoot down' of a US Air Force fighter aircraft off the coast of Cuba, the possible assassination of Cuban immigrants, sinking boats of Cuban refugees on the high seas, blowing up a U.S. ship, and orchestrating terrorism in U.S. cities. The proposals were rejected by President John F. Kennedy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard A. Slaughter - Futures Beyond Dystopia Creating Social Foresight (2004)

 

Book Description 

 

How can dystopian futures help provide the motivation to change the ways we operate day to day?
Futures Beyond Dystopia takes the view that the dominant trends in the world suggest a long-term decline into unliveable Dystopian futures. The human prospect is therefore very challenging, yet the perception of dangers and dysfunctions is the first step towards dealing with them. The motivation to avoid future dangers is matched by the human need to create plans and move forward. These twin motivations can be very powerful and help to stimulate the fields of Futures Studies and Applied Foresight.

This analysis of current Futures practice is split into six sections:

* The Case Against Hegemony
* Expanding and Deepening a Futures Frame
* Futures Studies and the Integral Agenda
* Social Learning through Applied Foresight
* Strategies and Outlooks
* The Dialectic of Foresight and Experience.

This fascinating book will stimulate anyone involved in Futures work around the world and will challenge practitioners and others to re-examine many of their assumptions, methodologies and practices.