2012.02.09 Feb 9th Comprehensive Career SEMINAR | Free | Honolulu, Hawaii
You are invited to meet with Bill Golden, CEO of USAJobZoo.com, USADefenseIndustryJobs.com and IntelligenceCareers.com to discuss the job market of 2011 through 2017.
Cost: FREE
Date: Thursday, Feb 9th, 2012
Time: 10:00AM – 3:30PM
Place: Hale Koa Hotel, Fort DeRussy Armed Forces Recreation Center, 2055 Kalia Road, Honolulu HI 96815
Map/Directions: http://g.co/maps/zq2dz
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Preregistration
Preregistration is not required but it would be nice if you told us that you were coming.
Please preregister at http://tinyurl.com/7uxmmt6
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This will be a ‘comprehensive’ seminar covering:
* Economics 101 – the state of our current economy
* Identifying specific opportunities for you
* Employment trends across a wide range of industries
* Understanding opportunities in the defense and intelligence industries
* Discovering new career opportunities
* Determining your marketplace value
* Determining if you should go back to school
* Identifying relevant career opportunities
This seminar is appropriate for all levels of job seekers that are ‘professionals’ with a definable skillset, or that are engaged in studying for a careerfield.
A benefit of attending this seminar is that your resume will be evaluated after the event, your general market value estimated in up to three job markets, and we will work to identify relevant opportunities with specific employers.
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About your presenter
This seminar will be given by Bill Golden, a senior career advisor for more than 100 career information blogs that are sponsored by USAJobZoo.com and USADefenseIndustryJobs.com, aka IntelligenceCareers.com
Bill’s background includes almost 35 years working within defense and intelligence, either in operations (’75-96) or as an industry analyst and consultant (’96-present).
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Why this seminar is free
USAJobZoo.com, USADefenseIndustryJobs.com and IntelligenceCareers.com represent a combined 100,000+ job listings for professionals across the USA and in 28 countries.
We are earn our way in life in getting you to use one of our recruiting websites and applying to employers. The more professionals that apply to companies puts more money in our pockets for a job well done.
We also hope to help you become successful in your job search. A bit of good advice just might get you a great job and your company will probably need someone like us to find more professionals. Your recommendation of us to your employer matters.
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SOURCE IntelligenceCareers.com
Customer Service, 1.800.919.8284 or customerservice@intelligencecareers.com
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2012.03.30 ~ CISE CAREER Proposal Writing Workshop ~ Philadelphia, PA
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
March 30, 2012 8:30 AM to March 30, 2012 5:00 PM
Philadelphia
The goal of the workshop is to enable future CISE proposal submitters to prepare competitive CAREER proposals. The workshop intends to provide young faculty members skills in CAREER proposal writing, panel review experience, and opportunities to interact with NSF program directors and recent NSF awardees.
Organizer: Dr. Paul Oh, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Date: March 30, 2012
Place: Philadelphia, PA
More information: workshop registration and further details forthcoming
This event is part of Workshops.
Meeting Type Workshop
Contacts Jie Yang, (703) 292-4768 jyang@nsf.gov Tatiana (Tanya) Korelsky, (703) 292-8930 tkorelsk@nsf.gov
NSF Related Organizations Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering
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More Help Needed to Prepare Workers for Well~Paid, High~Quality Jobs
DALLAS, TX /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ As the United States slowly recovers from the Great Recession, it needs to focus not just on creating more jobs but on more high-quality jobs and providing workers with the skills necessary to perform those jobs, according to an article in the Winter Issues in Science and Technology.
Because too many U.S. workers lack the education and skills required for high-paying jobs, employers often choose to compete based only on low costs rather than on better worker performance, writes Harry Holzer of Georgetown University. He argues that the federal government should make it easier for employers to create and fill good jobs with highly productive workers.
“To do so,” Holzer writes, “it needs to create and fund more-coherent and more-effective education and workforce-development systems. These systems should place their primary emphasis on providing more assistance to at-risk youth, both in school and out, and also to adult workers who are disadvantaged. Furthermore, these programs should take advantage of the latest evidence on effective training to maximize their impact.”
Also in the Winter Issues in Science and Technology, Stephen Ezell of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, DC, outlines a strategy for revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, which suffered a precipitous decline during the past decade. Key to a reversal, he writes, will be greatly expanded government efforts to support the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized (SME) firms.
Other industrialized countries, Ezell writes, have recognized that because SME manufacturers account for more than 98% of manufacturing firms in almost all economies, they form the backbone of a nation’s industrial supply chain. They have also recognized that despite their importance, SME manufacturers lag larger manufacturers in adopting new technologies, increasing productivity, and exporting. Accordingly, an increasing number of countries have introduced and robustly funded a broad array of policies and programs to support their SME manufacturers.
Unfortunately, Ezell says, the United States is lagging badly in these efforts. Indeed, a major reason why U.S. manufacturing has declined so much is the lack of support for SME firms.
The Winter Issues in Science and Technology also includes articles on reducing oil use in transportation, California’s pioneering transportation strategy, the promise of high-performance homes, and improving spent-fuel storage at nuclear reactors.
ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY is the award-winning journal of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and the University of Texas at Dallas. www.issues.org
SOURCE Issues in Science and Technology
Web Site: http://www.issues.org.com
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CyberPatriot IV Prepares for Second Round of National High School Cyber Defense Competition, Virginia
ARLINGTON, VA /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ ~~ The Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot is preparing for another round of competition this weekend, with the All Service Division entering its second of three online rounds.
CyberPatriot is the nation’s largest high school cyber security challenge. This unique competition was designed to give students a hands-on learning experience in cybersecurity and inspire students to consider science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields in their studies.
In this two-track competition, teams have registered from public, private, parochial and home schools in the Open Division and JROTC units of all Services and Civil Air Patrol squadrons filled the All Service Division. In all, more than 1,000 teams registered to participate this year.
The All Service Division teams will undergo another round of computer defense, with each team having to compete for six hours during the allotted 36-hour window of competition (starting noon EST on December 2 and closing at midnight EST on December 3). However, the teams will have to fortify and secure two systems this round, versus the one in the first preliminary round. The composite score of the first and second preliminary rounds will determine which teams advance to Round 3 (the Round of 36 teams).
Following that, the top 12 qualifying teams then receive all-expenses-paid trips to the CyberPatriot National Finals Competition held in the Washington, D.C. area, in March 2012.
In the meantime, the CyberPatriot staff has been working even harder to expand the educational reach of the competition, which includes the addition of a forensics element in the national finals competition and the completion of a pre-competition survey.
During the National Finals Competition of CyberPatriot IV, 24 teams of finalists will compete in a new forensics exercise, teaching about and testing high school competitors on the exciting field of cyber forensics through the application of crime scene analysis, evidence gathering and critical thinking. The expansion to the competition has been made possible by the Defense Cyber Crime Center.
And after distribution to 1,000-plus student competitors, CyberPatriot IV’s pre-competition survey was completed earlier this month, gathering information on participants’ general knowledge of all things cyber. The survey asked questions addressing students’ overall understanding of cyber security and their likeliness to pursue a career in STEM. Results will be compared with a similar survey after the completion of this year’s competition.
“This competition is about academic growth and teaching beyond the fundamental curriculum found in schools,” said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. “This survey is an analytical effort to measure the effect CyberPatriot is having on the students who participate in the competition. And the addition of cyber forensics adds an exciting element of education to the competition and allows these high school students to get exposure to another fascinating aspect of cyber security.”
The AFA is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation. AFA has over 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing 120,000 members. Visit www.afa.org.
SOURCE Air Force Association
CONTACT: Merri Shaffer, mshaffer@afa.org
Web Site: http://www.afa.org
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NASA Selects 300 Small Business Research And Technology Projects, District of Columbia
WASHINGTON, DC /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ ~~ NASA has selected 300 small business proposals to enter into negotiations for possible contract awards through the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
These competitive awards-based programs encourage U.S. small businesses and research institutions to engage in federal research, development and commercialization. The programs enable teams to explore technological potential while providing the incentive to profit from new commercial products and services.
The SBIR program selected 260 proposals, which have a combined value of approximately $33 million, for negotiation of Phase I feasibility study contracts. The STTR program selected 40 proposals, with a combined value of approximately $5 million, for negotiation of Phase I contracts.
“NASA’s partnerships with small businesses and universities through these programs brings space technologies to the marketplace, helping start-ups and small businesses create new jobs and grow our economy while meeting NASA’s current and future mission needs,” said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA’s Space Technology. “Breakthroughs in technology for space exploration create the foundation for new industries. We’re excited to work with these new partners and look forward to seeing their technologies mature into commercially viable products.”
The SBIR and STTR programs address specific technology gaps in NASA missions, while striving to complement other agency research investments. Program results have benefited many NASA efforts, including modern air traffic control systems, Earth-observing spacecraft, the International Space Station and the Mars rovers.
Innovative research areas among proposals include:
~~ Innovative research in the areas of positioning, navigation and timing that will enable accurate and precise determination of location and orientation of spacecraft to allow corrections to course, orientation and velocity to attain a desired destination
~~ Development of small, low-cost remote sensing and in situ instruments to enable science measurement capabilities with smaller or more affordable spacecraft that meet multiple mission needs while making the best use of limited resources
~~ Design of electronics, hardened for radiation and thermal cycling, which are capable of enduring the extreme temperature and radiation environments of deep space, and the lunar and Martian surfaces
~~ Improved technologies related to in-flight airframe and engine icing hazards for piloted and drone vehicles to prevent encounters with hazardous conditions and mitigation of their effects when they occur The highly competitive programs are based on a three-phase award system. Phase I is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. Awards are typically for six months for the SBIR contracts and 12 months for the STTR contracts, in amounts up to $125,000. Firms successfully completing Phase I are eligible to submit Phase II proposals, expanding on the results of Phase I. Phase III includes commercialization of the results of Phase II, and requires the use of private sector or non-SBIR federal funding as innovations move from the laboratory to the marketplace.
The selected SBIR proposals were submitted by 196 small, high technology firms in 37 states. The selected STTR proposals were submitted by 36 small high technology firms in 13 states. As part of the STTR program, the firms proposed to partner with 34 universities or research institutions in 16 states.
NASA received 1,878 qualified Phase I proposals. The criteria used to choose these selected proposals included technical merit and feasibility; experience, qualifications and facilities; effectiveness of the work plan; and, commercial potential and feasibility.
NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., manages the SBIR program for the agency’s Space Technology Program. NASA’s 10 field centers manage individual projects.
For a complete list of selected companies, visit:
For more information about NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist and the agency’s Space Technology Program, visit:
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Job Interview Tips
Job Interview Tips
An interview gives you the opportunity to showcase your qualifications to an employer, so it pays to be well prepared. The following information provides some helpful hints.
Preparation:
Personal appearance:
The interview:
Information to bring to an interview:
Source: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition
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NASA’s Terra Spacecraft Images Thailand Flooding
Since July 2011, heavy monsoon rains in southeast Asia have resulted in catastrophic flooding. In Thailand, about one third of all provinces are affected. On Oct. 23, 2011, when this image from ASTER, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer instrument on NASA’s Terra spacecraft was acquired, flood waters were approaching the capital city of Bangkok as the Ayutthaya River overflowed its banks.
In this image, vegetation is displayed in red, and flooded areas are black and dark blue. Brighter blue shows sediment-laden water, and gray areas are houses, buildings and roads. The image covers an area of 35.2 by 66.3 miles (56.7 by 106.9 kilometers) and is located at 14.5 degrees north latitude, 100.5 degrees east longitude. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched Dec. 18, 1999, on Terra. The instrument was built by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and data products. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Learn more at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2091.html
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Mind Reading Computer System May Help People With Locked~in Syndrome
Totally paralyzed people could communicate and control robots
Miles O’Brien, Science Nation Correspondent
Jon Baime, Science Nation Producer
Imagine living a life in which you are completely aware of the world around you but you’re prevented from engaging in it because you are completely paralyzed. Even speaking is impossible. For an estimated 50,000 Americans, this is a harsh reality. It’s called locked-in syndrome, a condition in which people with normal cognitive brain activity suffer severe paralysis, often from injuries or an illness such as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
“Locked-in people are unable to move at all except possibly their eyes, and so they’re left with no means of communication but they are fully conscious,” says Boston University neuroscientist Frank Guenther.
Guenther works with the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Center of Excellence for Learning in Education, Science and Technology (CELEST), which is made up of eight private and public institutions, mostly in the Boston area. Its purpose is to synthesize the experimental modeling and technological approaches to research in order to understand how the brain learns as a whole system. In particular, Guenther’s research is looking at how brain regions interact, with the hope of melding mind and machine, and ultimately making life much better for people with locked-in syndrome.
“People who have no other means of communication can start to control a computer that can produce words for them or they can manipulate what happens in a robot and allow them to interact with the world,” Guenther says about his research.
His team demonstrated two experiments on the day Science Nation stopped by. In one experiment, run by assistant research professor Jonathan Brumberg, a volunteer shows how she uses a speech synthesizer to make vowel sounds just by thinking about moving a hand or foot. She never moves her body or says anything.
“We use an EEG cap to read the brain signals coming from her brain through her scalp,” explains Brumberg, who tracks the brainwaves with a computer. “Depending on what body part she imagines moving, the cursor moves in different directions on the screen. Brumberg explains that he is able to, “translate those brain activities into audio signals that can be used to drive a voice synthesizer. We’ve mapped the “uw” sound to a left hand movement, the “aa” sound to right hand movement, and the “iy” sound to a foot movement.”
As the subject sits perfectly still, the cursor starts to move freely across the screen. Each of those sounds is represented by three circles on a computer screen. The subject needs to get the cursor into the center of any of the three circles to get the synthesizer to make the right vowel sound.
We watch as the subject imagines moving her left hand to get the cursor to move right into the center of the “uw” circle, and we hear a synthetic “uw” droning from the synthesizer. Brumberg has experimented on locked-in patients, too, and the results have been startling.
“We started with helping a locked-in patient regain an ability to make certain vowel sounds and that was amazing. He hasn’t been able to talk in years and the first time he made a movement with our formant synthesizer, he nearly, you know, jumped out of his chair with excitement,” says Brumberg. “Although the patient has no actual voluntary movement, involuntary motor actions are often seen when the patient gets excited.”
Guenther says this technology holds great promise not just for locked-in patients. “We hope these technologies would be applied to people that have other communication disorders that cause them to be unable to speak,” he says. “This sort of thing would allow them to produce synthetic speech, which could be used to talk to the people around them and mention their needs.”
In another experiment, graduate student Sean Lorenz takes a robot out for a spin using only brainwaves. The checkerboards on the sides of the screen flash at slightly different frequencies. To the naked eye, the differences are subtle. “But the neurons in his visual cortex start firing in synchrony with the checkerboard he’s looking at and so we can pick up the frequency and from that, determine which choice he was trying to make, left, right, forward or backward, for example.” explains Guenther.
For locked-in patients, Guenther adds, “If they’re pointing their eyes at a visual screen, they can focus their attention on one of the different frequencies and they can manipulate what happens in a robot or in a computer.”
According to Guenther it’s just a matter of time before these technologies are commercially available. It’s all part of a vision that pairs biology with technology to find a way out~~for those who are locked-in.
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BIZOPS:’Power Dreaming Project’ utilizing Virtual Reality (VR), aka ‘The Inception Project’ for Healing Troops with PTSD
This is a business opportunity to help troops heal faster and more completely through the use of unique technology.
The US Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground-Natick Contracting Division (NCD), on behalf of the Naval Medical Research Center intends to issue a Request for Proposals for research and development to augment the current Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) approaches for warrior trainees (WT) and other patients suffering with nightmares related to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)/traumatic brain injury (TBI) with technological advances in biofeedback and Virtual Reality (VR).
This acquisition will provide contractor services in support of the Power Dreaming project at the Naval Hospital Bremerton, Washington.
Power Dreaming directly improves on these therapeutic models by utilizing heart rate variability biofeedback to measure the relaxation response and virtual reality machinima to enhance imagery capability. The goal is to reduce brain wave frequency and allostatic loading associated with nightmare activity. Unlike exposure therapy, the model is to develop imagery that is both customized by the trainee and neurologically “distracting” to stimulate the development of a clinical relaxation response.
Studies have indicated that avatars which are dynamic and customized can provide a psychological framework for personal transformation. In addition being able to move, fly and interact within vivid environmental settings increases the transformational power of the virtual experience. Examples of such imagination would be providing a reef setting for exploration embedded with colorful sea life or an outer space environment with flight oriented prims that enhance the sense of space travel. The contractor will enhance existing avatar and prim development tools within SL to optimize this outcome. By design the nature of this activity will be distractive and not confront the user to any images or stimuli which could be perceived as “exposing” the user to past traumatic memories. To that end all avatar enhancements and environments will be devoid of symbols such as: uniforms, weapons, explosions, primitive villages or any other possible cue related to operational experiences. The fundamental goal is to augment existing tools within SL with no cost AV software to provide the user the most entertaining, dynamic and distractive imagery possible so that parasympathetic (relaxing) neuro-physiological pathways can be triggered and reinforced with repetition. The user will work on avatar and environmental imagery as a routine trainee expectation with the intention of being able to enter the immersive world when a sense of control and calming is required. This increased locus of control is a learned behavior which is directly correlated to the entertaining and entraining nature of the virtual experience.
Specifically, the user will be able to develop scenarios within SL so that when awakened by nightmare arousal the virtual imagery will effectively counteract the sympathetic state created by nightmare imagery. Since the trainees will not necessarily possess: computer literacy, internet management or “gaming” skills the contractor will endeavor to make the learning curve as flat as possible through the development of graphic tutorials imbedded in the software.
The contractor shall provide consultation to identify the best way to modify existing Application Programming Interfaces (API) in the immersive training environment. The contractor shall also provide consultative and training services to the government for the immersive world and utilization of the Power Dreaming software.
Training shall be provided to the government to augment their competencies after the initial implementation of the software into the government facility. The training shall be performed on site at the Naval Hospital Bremerton using the Government-furnished computers, hardware and connectivity that will be deployed to the WT personnel. Due to research design issues the contractor shall provide training to the project staff and will have no direct contact with the trainees. Training intensity and frequency will ensure that the government has the requisite expertise to execute the virtual component of the project. The equipment (laptops, biofeedback modules, air cards and 3D glasses) will be issued by and accounted for by the MTF.
The duration of the work effort is expected to 27 months with a maximum participation of 100 trainees. The first 12 months are expected to consist of consultation, development and training services. The remaining 15 months will consist of system modification and training services as required once the developed system has been implemented.
Learn more/read more: https://www3.natick.army.mil/dwnload.cfm?recordID=1584
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FYI Tidbits // Northrop to cut 800 more jobs by January 2012 in Fort Meade, Maryland area
Northrop Grumman announced that it will cut 800 jobs as the company continues to prepare for defense spending cutbacks. Jack Martin, a Northrop spokesman, said the cuts would mostly be in Linthicum, Maryland where more than 6,500 of the 7,600 employees in Maryland are concentrated. Additional layoffs will take place at the Bay Bridge plant near Annapolis and in Sykesville. Northrop Grumman, which makes radar systems at its Electronic Systems facilities in Linthicum, based the latest round of cuts on its projections of defense spending, Martin said. Jobs across the board will be included in the cuts – engineering, manufacturing and support positions, he said. The company is offering buyout incentives for employees first, and then will lay off workers by January to reach the 800 figure.
Read more/learn more: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/bus/2011/10/21-32/Northrop-to-cut-800-more-jobs-by-January.html
