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Summary
Pages 1-13

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From page 1...
... With the advent of newer sources of data, such as social media and modern data analytics, P&R has the opportunity to exploit new tools that may produce more powerful analyses and improve the effectiveness and effi­iency with which it accomplishes its mission. However, cultural c and technological challenges exist and must be addressed, including the following: improving data access and sharing while ensuring proper privacy protection, enhancing analytic methods, and improving workforce education.
From page 2...
... The second aspect involves data analytics and includes data mining, text analytics, machine and statistical learning, probability theory, mathematical optimization, and visualization of results. Currently, analyses developed to support P&R are often disjointed, one-time efforts that respond to immediate questions and may lack any plan for future use of their data or methods.
From page 3...
... Data need to be easily accessible and shared across groups in a way that reduces the hurdles currently faced when researchers and analysts seek to find or share data while ensuring proper privacy and security protections. Analytic methods available to P&R need to be expanded to enable stronger and more rapid responses to significant P&R research and analysis questions.
From page 4...
... Along these lines, there is also a need for standardization in the way data users can report problems with data collections and channel those problems back to the data providers when appropriate. Challenges of data sharing and repurposing are significant; in particular, different definitions and formatting of data complicate data merging and linking, making it difficult to bring to bear multiple databases and the additional insights they represent to inform studies.
From page 5...
... , a slow and complicated approval process to gain access, lengthy reviews for data import and export, limited computational capabilities, concerns about data quality and comprehensiveness, and concerns about data ownership rules pose a significant deterrent to utilizing the PDE. In addition, it is not clear that the architecture scales up in such a way that it can serve all of P&R's needs, and forcing analysts to work through the PDE personnel, who then must work through the data owners, may represent a barrier between the analyst and the raw data.
From page 6...
... Recommendation 3: The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense ( ­Personnel & Readiness) should identify incentives to enhance data sharing and collection, such as the following: • Tracking usage of data by source in repositories such as the Person Event Data Environment and periodically reporting back to data providers on usage (e.g., number of uses, who the users are, the nature of the study, or analysis the data contributed to)
From page 7...
... Finding: The development of the Person-Event Data Environment is a positive step in making some data more easily accessible. However, certain technical and cultural factors deter the use of this tool.
From page 8...
... Recommendation 6: The Defense Manpower Data Center should assess how well the Person-Event Data Environment is working and whether it is serving its intended community. In doing so, the center should consider taking the following steps to improve the usability of the Person-Event Data Environment and enhance its value: • Assess if current privacy and security policies are adequate, taking ­ into account modern methods of attack and sources of auxiliary infor­ ation that can aid in these attacks, such as multiple releases m ­ of statistics and data sets (Ganta et al., 2008)
From page 9...
... In doing so, the department should examine the applicability of Fair Information Practice Principles in the treatment of Defense Manpower Data Center data. Recommendation 10: The Defense Manpower Data Center, in its role as steward of the Person-Event Data Environment, should consider ways to adapt and use privacy and governance practices that the Office of Management and Budget has created for civilian use.
From page 10...
... The best analytic methods can be accessed by enhancing training in the workforce and by building a data analytics center such as the Office of People Analytics, proposed in the Force of the Future initiatives. Finding: A wide range of problems are being addressed for P&R using ­ data analytic techniques and the rich data sources discussed in this re port.
From page 11...
... Examples include classification, linear and nonlinear re­ gression, data mining, text analysis, machine learning, Bayesian methods, and simulation. •  he extensive use of data and mathematical techniques to uncover explana­ T tory and predictive models of an organization's performance representing the inherent relationship between data inputs and outputs/outcomes.a •  echniques such as statistics and data mining to analyze current and historical T information to make predictions about what will happen in the future, typically producing both a statement of possible events that could occur and the asso­ ciated probabilities of their occurrence.b Prescriptive analytics.
From page 12...
... STRENGTHEN DATA SCIENCE EDUCATION A skilled workforce that can apply state-of-the-art methodology and adapt to the quickly evolving data analytics domain is essential. OSD would benefit if P&R strengthened the data analytics expertise of a portion of its staff, both military and civilians.
From page 13...
... should enhance education in data science for its personnel, including civil service employees. This education could range from short courses in specific techniques for personnel who a ­ lready have the requisite foundational knowledge, to overview semi nars for managers who need to be acquainted with what their analytical staff can undertake, to formal degree programs, whether at Department of Defense or civilian universities.


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