Game-playing may help intelligence analysts with the serious business of identifying biases that can cloud decision-making and problem-solving during life-or-death situations, according to researchers, who reported their findings Nov. 13 at the IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security. The fictional decision-making games, based on real-life situations that U.S. intelligence analysts faced in Iraq, used a chain of messages, intercepted phone calls and intelligence reports that offered insights into the activities of insurgent groups.

With the presidential election fast approaching, many Penn State students are trying to sift through myriad issues and slogans to make informed decisions when they enter the voting booth. PSU Votes, a network of volunteers across the University, is providing the campus community with easy access to election-related information, while also collecting data on students' political views and the media habits that shape their beliefs.

Anna Squicciarini, an assistant professor at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology, is undertaking a research project with the intention of helping users select the best cloud computing service to suit their needs. Squicciarini has received an award of $144,920 from the National Science Foundation to support the project, Brokerage Services for the Next Generation Cloud.

Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) hosted a Garden Party on Oct. 7 at the Schreyer House, where David Hall, dean of the College of IST, members of the IST Advisory Board and students gathered for brunch, music and conversation. They also welcomed Penn State alumni and parents who work in technology-related fields and shared information with them about IST. The College hosted the event with the intention of making new connections that may be in positions to develop relationships with IST students and guide them in their careers.

Online social networks such as Facebook and Google+ create opportunities for users to share personal information, but also to bend or withhold the truth to suit their own purposes. While privacy may be a commonly voiced concern, according to two Penn State researchers, a social network user's decisions to lie or withhold information are more closely tied to peer pressure and a desire for popularity. Anna Squicciarini, an assistant professor at the College of Information Sciences and Technology and Christopher Griffin, a research associate at the Applied Research Laboratory, recently won a best paper award for "An Informed Model of Personal Information Release in Social Networking Sites," which Squicciarini presented to the 2012 Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust conference in Amsterdam.

Alan Peslak, associate professor of information sciences and technology (IST) at Penn State Worthington Scranton, has been named IST Statewide Faculty Member of the Year for 2012-13 by the University. He received the honor at the recent all-campus IST meeting.

The honor, which has been given annually since 2002, is given to a full-time faculty member from the Penn State system who has demonstrated a high degree of excellence and commitment to the IST/SRA programs at their campus, across the Commonwealth, and with regard to their students.

Smartsphere, the leading Enterprise Portfolio Management consulting firm donated iteraplan, Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) software, valued at $250,000, to the Center for Enterprise Architecture at Penn State University's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST). The donation of iteraplan software supports the center's efforts in pursuing its educational and research objectives. Iteraplan is already being used in an IST Enterprise Architecture course.

Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) hosted a town hall Oct. 16 with three Penn State alumni who highlighted how they succeeded in their fields. Brig. Gen. Dana Born, dean of the faculty, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Paul Bell, former president of Global Public and Large Enterprise, Dell; and John Meyer, co-chairman/ CEO, Arise Virtual Solutions and IST Advisory Board member, were on campus to be recognized by the Alumni Association as Alumni Fellows, the most prestigious award given by the association.