Tag Archive for: building

Schools for the Deaf and the Blind will re-open next week following building fire

/in


ROMNEY, W.Va. — The West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind will welcome students back to campus next week after a recent fire destroyed the school’s administration building.

The Feb. 26 blaze damaged key services and utilities, including internet servers, telephone services and security camera surveillance. No one was injured during the fire.

The administration building was built in the 1800s. The building was vacant at the time of the fire; offices and personnel moved to other spaces late last year. Historical contents of the building were cataloged amid the move.

Students were away from campus at the time of the fire.

“This was more than a building to the school and the community, it was a part of the culture and tradition, and it is a significant loss to everyone,” State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch said.

“However, once again, I witnessed numerous examples of community pride and compassion. It was inspiring to see the response of so many agencies, organizations, community members and individuals from around the country who stepped into action and showed concern in a number of ways.”

The State Fire Marshal and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the fire, in which the cause remains undetermined.

Source…

Building a tool for more efficient software coding: USask research – News

/in


“Unfortunately, software errors (bugs) can have massive economic impacts, with only 606 bugs costing $1.7 trillion worldwide in 2017, affecting 3.7 billion people and over 300 companies,” said Bhattacharjee.

Software bugs have the potential to put humans in dangerous situations. Glitches in flight control software can lead to fatal plane crashes or errors in self-driving car programs can cause an increased risk of accidents.

“The ratio of reading versus writing code is almost nine to one. Therefore, by guiding developers to read code more effectively and efficiently, we can minimize developers’ time, ultimately reducing software cost and encouraging more bug-free software.”

To combat bugs during the software developing process, Bhattacharjee and research supervisors Dr. Banani Roy (PhD) and Dr. Kevin Schneider (PhD) from the USask Department of Computer Science are developing a tool to aid developers in reading and writing better code.

The team has been working alongside the USask Global Institute for Water Security, where their source code tool has been used to maintain and develop the Cold Region Hydrological Model (CRHM) software program that is used to predict potential fluxes and states of water and energy in the environment.

Bhattacharjee also developed the back end of the USask Global Water Futures Nutrient App, which allows farmers and scientists across North America to measure water quality by using their phone cameras and low-cost water test kits. The app can measure nutrient concentrations in freshwater and provide water contamination alerts.

In both cases, it is vitally important the information provided to environmental decision makers is as accurate as possible.

“We created an Abstract Code Summary (ACS) tree, an indexed data structure for searching and exploring the codebase in a guided way,” said Bhattacharjee.

The ACS tree provides a way for computer science students and experienced developers to effectively navigate complex computer code and as a result improve their ability to make…

Source…

New US Army cyber unit is building concepts for tactical cyber operations

/in


MUSCATATUCK URBAN TRAINING CENTER, Ind. — After nearly two decades of conflict against technologically inferior and insurgency-focused adversaries, the U.S. military and the Army are honing their cyber training against more sophisticated forces.

The Army, for its part, is moving toward a multidomain-capable force, which envisions the seamless integration of forces and capabilities across all spheres of warfare; air, land, sea, space and cyber, as well as the information dimension.

Part of realizing a multidomain force is meeting the need for tactical cyber and information capabilities outside of U.S. Cyber Command. Following a series of exercises and experimental units, the Army activated the 915th Cyber Warfare Battalion in 2019.

This first-of-its-kind unit is designed to provide non-lethal capabilities such as cyber, electronic warfare and information operations in support of Army Service Component Commands and their subordinate elements.

“What we are is a new organization that’s helping define what it means to do multidomain operations from an information advantage standpoint and then through our innovation and experimentation, that’s what’s ultimately going to get recorded in doctrine,” Lt. Col. Benjamin Klimkowski, commander of the 915th, said. “The doctrine writers have never done this before. They need our input to help shape that. It’s our experimentation and our operations that pushes that piece.”

The vision is by 2026 the 915th will consist of 12 expeditionary cyber and electromagnetic activities teams (ECTs), each capable of providing cyber, electronic-warfare and information operations. Currently, there are three companies within the battalion with two ECTs under a separate company, consisting of a total of over 200 personnel. The third ECT is slated to be created at the end of fiscal year 2022.

Moreover, the goal is that each ECT will be aligned to specific geographic theaters.

The Army will have 12 expeditionary cyber and electromagnetic teams by 2026.

However, much is still uncertain between then and now as the force is being built. For example, initial and full operating capability criteria for teams are still in the works, officials explained.

The…

Source…

India to Set Up Cyber Labs for Online Capacity Building Programme on Cyber Law – OpenGov Asia

/in


Over the past decade, technological innovation has advanced at an increasingly fast pace, creating both opportunities and disruptions in virtually every industry. The postal industry is no exception. According to the report, “Step into Tomorrow: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and Emerging Technology,” the Postal Service collects massive quantities of data on an ongoing basis. A challenge is putting this data to its most valued use to improve the customer experience. Changing customer expectations and increased competition for last-mile delivery have resulted in a demand for innovative solutions

Data-driven advanced algorithms and analytics can play a critical role in the design of these new, last-mile solutions. Postal infrastructure is, and will continue to be, supported and enhanced by the use of big data across the supply chain. The Postal Service transports millions of mail pieces and packages through its network every day.

To track where the mail is, how quickly it is travelling to its delivery destination, and identify any problems in the network, the Postal Service scans mail pieces at several points along its route. The network is vast, so the collection and utilisation of this information is best harnessed through data analytics

Data and analytics are at the heart of USPS operations, helping improve the efficiency and quality of services. They inform applications that track packages for residents and business mailers and could make the Postal Service more competitive and improve the quality of the products offered to their customers.

USPS’ Informed Visibility – Mail Tracking and Reporting service, for example, combines actual scans of mail pieces with assumed and logical scans during handling to provide near real-time data on the location of mail in the processing and delivery network and its expected delivery date.

In its research, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) interviewed industry experts and Postal Service management on the future of technological innovation in the postal industry. OIG also reviewed the USPS 10-year plan and asked international mailers and U.S. shippers to identify promising technologies.

Shipping industry representatives stressed…

Source…