Thought some folks might be interested in some new projects related to human behavior, culture and of course, Anthropology! First is a book available online and below are links to FY08 Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Science & Technology) SBIR Program Description.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN MILITARY CONTEXTS
Committee on Opportunities in Basic Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences for the U.S. Military

James J. Blascovich and Christine R. Hartel, Editors

Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

The military has long recognized the role of research in furthering its mission. In that vein, the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) asked the National Research Council to provide an agenda for basic behavioral and social research focused on applications in both the near (5-10 years) and far (more than 10 years) terms. This request was made in the context of limited funds: for fiscal 2007, the U.S. Department of Defense budget for behavioral and social science is $37.6 million, its lowest level in 4 years, and for basic behavioral research at ARI it is approximately $4 million, including $1 million earmarked for “network science.

The committee recommends six areas of research on the basis of their relevance, potential impact, and timeliness for military needs: intercultural competence, including second-language learning; teams in complex environments; technology-based training; nonverbal behavior; emotion; and behavioral neurophysiology.
Entire book is available online at:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12023#toc

OSD08-CR1 TITLE: Human Social, and Culture Behavioral Modeling Game-Based Simulation
OBJECTIVE: To develop a highly interactive, PC-based Human, Social and Culture Behavioral Modeling (HSCB) simulation tool to support training for military planners for handling insurgencies, small wars, and/or emergent conflicts.

OSD08-CR3 TITLE: Rapid Ethnographic Assessment Program
OBJECTIVE: Provide US military planners/analysts and their USG Interagency partners with an improved, rapid ethnography capacity, so that military planners can quickly discover critical aspects of the society with respect to their particular mission, be it humanitarian, security, reconstruction or stabilization.

http://dodsbir.net/solicitation/sbir081/osd081.htm