CHARLES RIVER ANALYTICS, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: The proliferation of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has changed the information lan

Description

The proliferation of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has changed the information landscape for international crisis and disaster response. Given the amount of crisis data generated, however, it is difficult for responders to identify mission-relevant, reliable information. Existing approaches to exploiting CMC do not provide sufficient cues for responders to evaluate the actionability or reliability of the resulting information. These approaches ignore the social aspects of CMC, failing to recognize the reliability cues that could be gained from maintaining a"web of trust."To generate socially-aware, actionable intelligence for tactical crisis response, we propose to design and demonstrate a system for Tailoring Response and Understanding using Social Trust (TRUST). First, we will conduct a requirements analysis to understand the role trust could play in analyzing the reliability of CMC data for crisis response, and to inform the design of a socio-technical system consisting of a web of trusted sources that generate actionable intelligence. Second, we will enable responders to maintain and manage the web of trust. Third, we will enable responders to manage their interactions with sources and to structure incoming CMC data. Fourth, we will allow responders to visually explore incoming CMC data and understand its relevance to mission objectives.