Keith W. Jones

Complex problems: What makes them complex and difficult to solve?

This paper discusses the topics of complex systems, complex adaptive systems, and complex problems. For network-centric warfare (NCW) using complex systems, it is necessary to develop collaborative technological systems that function within a cybernetic organismic network (CON) according to holistic systems engineering and nonlinear stochastic processes. Consequently, there are differences between how issues and problems are processed. Issues are people-oriented problems that interfere with technology development. Problems are related to technology itself and can be more easily resolved. To develop collaborative technology systems that function within a CON and perform NCW requires holistic systems engineering and nonlinear reasoning about agents thinking, learning, and adapting accordingly.

Holistic Systems Engineering: Cognitive Hierarchy, Rf Receiver Technology, and Environment

From the very beginning of technological development, humans have had the goal to build systems that can capture the cognitive abilities of nature. The ability to process control and communications information on the battlefield is important. Such control can be offered in the form of a software-defined radio (SDR) based on cognitive radio technology. Cognitive radio technology could theoretically interoperate amongst incompatible communication systems used by friendly and coalition forces. According to Dr. Joseph Mitola, the cognitive radio vision is as follows: a smart radio that could switch spectrum on the fly. Put another way, a cognitive radio is a radio function that would be capable of switching from a crowded part of the radio frequency spectrum to a radio frequency region that is more sparsely populated but can still receive the original signals of interest. Cognitive radio technology and cognitive engineering is based upon the human cognitive hierarchy process, however, for its practicable realization to occur, the authors argue a holistic systems engineering approach that appears to include physical, informational, cognitive, social domain along with machine-, application-, and human-centered sub-domain combat conditions and thermal management systems engineering concepts must, from the beginning, be considered

Collaborative technologies for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Sociology of science and knowledge, holistic systems engineering, and systems thinking

This paper is a conceptual thought experiment that discusses the need for efficient, interactive and inter- operative, application- and learner-centered collaborative technologies to enable implementation of cognitive apprenticeship, training, and other types of education and sociological techniques that can help change the engineering environment, both educational and occupational, to enhance recruitment of non- traditional STEM professionals and enhance all STEM Professionals ability to function in their chosen occupational settings. The authors recommend using holistic systems engineering design approaches to develop collaborative technology (CT) that can be used to change these cultures. The authors conclude that multi- disciplinary work teams that include educators, social science systems engineers and history of science and technology systems engineers, who have support from the highest levels of management, should be used to resolve the identified problems.

Collaborative technologies: Sociology of science and knowledge within engineering work cultures

This paper discusses our need for efficient, interactive and inter-operative collaborative technologies. The problems of poor interaction and inter-operation can be traced back to engineering work cultures. The authors recommend approaches that can be used to change engineering work culture. They conclude that multi-disciplinary work teams including social scientists and history of science and technology systems engineers, with support from the highest levels of management, are required to resolve the proposed problems.

History of Science and Technology Systems Engineering: The Histneer

This paper takes a holistic systems engineering approach toward addressing the need to consolidate human intellectual capital (called history of science & technology) with scientific and technological history of science and technology (HS&T) (for devices, machines, and processes), along with configuration management for individualized project management and systems engineering technology development efforts. The authors define HS&T as a field of history that examines how our (that is, humanitys) understanding of science and technology has changed over the years. They argue that without such an understanding, development of new technologies could have been improbable. They further describe HS&T as a field of history that studies the cultural, economic, and political impacts of scientific and technological innovation. They define configuration management to be a discipline that applies technical and administrative direction and surveillance to: (1) identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a scientific and technological configuration item; (2) control changes to those characteristics or attributes pertaining to scientific and technological devices, machines, and processes; and (3) record and report changes to processing and implementation status of scientific and technological devices, machines, and processes. They further describe present-day configuration management to be based upon the physical and some aspect of the informational domain along with a machine-centered sub-domain; and that this is incomplete. The authors argue that from a holistic systems engineering perspective, the majority of the informational domain and plausibly all of the cognitive and social domain in addition to the application- and human-centered sub-domain appear to be overlooked according to present-day configuration management concepts relating to the technology development process. As a plausible solution, they advocate there should be a real-time history of science & technology systems engineer (or histneer-1-) team member working as part of an integrated product team (IPT). That the histneer team member, as part of the system or technology development team, could be responsible for gathering and documenting all aspects of the acquisition development process whether its human performance and recollection data; machine and software data; modeling, simulation and analysis data; ideational data, conceptual data, sociological data, psychological data, and war fighting data related to actual applications of developed technology during combat

Collaborative technologies: Cognitive apprenticeship, training, and education

This paper is a conceptual thought experiment that discusses the need for efficient, interactive and inter- operative, application- and learner-centered collaborative technologies that use cognitive apprenticeship, training, and other types of education and sociological techniques to recruit more non-traditional learners to become STEM professionals. The problem of poor to no interest in STEM courses and career paths by non-traditional (female and minority) science and engineering learners is well-understood. The authors recommend using holistic systems engineering design approaches to develop collaborative technology (CT) that can be used to change academic, private, and public engineering work cultures; to derive new ways of increasing the numbers of non-traditional STEM learners; and also to use CT to teach STEM to non-traditional learners according to their preference. The authors conclude that multi-disciplinary work teams that include educators, social science systems engineers, and history of science and technology systems engineers who have support from the highest levels of management, could be used to resolve the identified problems.