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Intelligent Anomaly Detection for 5G & Beyond: Securing Service-Based Architecture Against HTTP/2-Driven Attacks
Get PDFThe Fifth Generation (5G) networks power diverse applications, from autonomous vehicles to smart cities, by enabling ultra-reliable low-latency communications, massive IoT connectivity, and enhanced mobile broadband. At the core of this advancement is the 5G Service-Based Architecture (SBA), which ensures scalability and flexibility through cloud-native deployment and virtualized Network Functions (NFs). The adoption of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol version 2 (HTTP/2) in the 5G SBA has become essential for enabling efficient communication between NFs. However, the adoption of HTTP/2 for NF communication introduces security risks, including stream multiplexing, slow-rate, and rapid-reset attacks, which can lead to Denial of Service (DoS) and disrupt critical services. Addressing these vulnerabilities is essential to maintaining the stability and security of 5G networks.
This thesis explores the impact of HTTP/2 vulnerabilities on the 5G SBA, identifying attack vectors that compromise the Quality of Service (QoS) of critical services. While prior studies largely assessed these threats theoretically, this research demonstrates the practical vulnerabilities of 5G networks to HTTP/2 attacks, such as Stream Multiplexing Attacks (SMAs). To address these challenges, the thesis introduces 5GShield, an application layer anomaly detection solution using autoencoder-based Machine Learning (ML). By profiling normal NF behavior with application-layer features, 5GShield effectively detects deviations indicative of SMAs. Building on this, 5GGuardian is proposed as a more advanced solution to detect nuanced variations of SMAs. Leveraging 5G-Stream features and a time-series transformer, 5GGuardian captures fine-grained NF behaviors and complex patterns in HTTP/2 streams, achieving superior accuracy for both stealthy and non-stealthy anomalies. Recognizing the limitations of single detection approaches, the research introduces an ensemble learning-based solution that leverages and combines the strengths of multiple ML models trained on different feature sets in order to provide superior detection performance of HTTP/2 attacks, including slow-rate and rapid-reset attacks. By providing scalable and advanced anomaly detection, this thesis strengthens 5G SBA security, ensuring reliable service delivery and supporting the secure growth of future communication networks
How has Remote Work Self-Efficacy Changed After a Quarter Century?
Get PDFThe purpose of this research was to replicate and extend Staples et al.’s (1999) study to determine if their findings are consistent relative to modern remote work models to provide contextually relevant suggestions for managers to enact policies that leverage remote work to benefit their employees and organization. The study consisted of assessing the mechanisms that lead remote workers to experience enhanced performance and improved well-being. In addition to the model illustrated in Staple et al.’s (1999) study, I also examined whether technology industries moderate the relationships between antecedents of remote work self-efficacy, and if remote work intensity, the degree an employee works from home, moderates the relationships between remote work self-efficacy and outcomes. Through a combination of using Prolific and convenience sampling, I obtained 434 valid responses. I then used SPSS to conduct regression analysis to test hypotheses. The results in general confirm Staples et al.’s (1999) findings. I found that modelling best practices by manager, IT experience and training, and general computer self-efficacy were positively associated with remote work self-efficacy; while computer anxiety had a negative association. Furthermore, remote work self-efficacy had positive associations with remote work performance, job satisfaction, affective commitment, ability to cope, and a negative association with job stress. In terms of moderation effects, there is a stronger, positive relationship between general computer self-efficacy and remote work self-efficacy for employees working in technology industries than those working in non-technology industries. Theoretical, practical contributions, and future research directions are discussed
Forecasting Change: Climate Connections in Canadian Extreme Weather Reporting
Get PDFCanadians from coast to coast are experiencing the consequences of the increase in extreme weather events, like the unprecedented 2023 forest fire season. With the impact these extreme events have on public life, the Canadian media cover them extensively, and thus they make up a significant proportion of the news as they occur. The number of these events is said to continue increasing, as the scientific consensus states climate change and rising temperatures will continue to influence the frequency and intensity of extreme weather. In recent years, scientists have begun conducting extreme event attribution (EEA) studies which link certain events to climate change. While some argue that journalists should mention these EEA studies in their coverage, others argue making explicit connections to climate change is enough to fully inform the public. Even with this newly emerging debate, little is known about how the Canadian media mention or connect climate change to extreme weather events. Using a text as data approach, with automated content analysis, this thesis explores how five Canadian media outlets cover four types of extreme weather events, by comparing reporting from 2019 and 2023. This work aims to examine how the media mention climate change, whether they connect extreme weather events to climate, and how they make that connection. The results show that overall, the proportion of climate connection used in the coverage of extreme events by the selected Canadian media increased from 2019 to 2023. Additionally, both the proportion of climate mentions and connections are greater than those found in existing studies
Digital Decodings: Learning in a Freirean Gaming Circle
Get PDFThis action research study explores the use of video games in a Freirean culture circle. Video games are a popular media format enjoyed by many that can provide rich opportunities for learning. Following Paulo Freire’s methodology of conscientization, I designed and facilitated a project called Digital Decodings, where a small group of adult learners decoded themes embedded in popular role-playing video games over five weekly sessions. Digital Decodings was an educational space where frameworks shifted, conscientization deepened, and participants were exposed to new ways of thinking. Working with video games provided unique decoding opportunities; however, technical difficulties sometimes got in the way. It was also challenging to balance the fun of working with video games with the focus required to facilitate critical discussions. That said, the findings of this thesis support the potential of popular video games for emancipatory learning, nonetheless. Further research is needed on the role that different video games, or different video game genres altogether, could play in future gaming circles. The exploratory nature of this study also paves the way for further exploration with different learner groups and educational methods
Sonic Restitutions: Afrosonic Aesthetics in Satch Hoyt’s Artistic Practice
Get PDFThis thesis focuses on the practice of contemporary visual artist Satch Hoyt, who employs what I am calling an “Afrosonic aesthetic”. Beginning with Hoyt’s expansive art making practice and theory of the Eternal Migration of the Afro Sonic Signifier as an entry point, I argue that Black contemporary artists are attuned to the frequency of Black life, continually creating and accessing technologies that attend to a sonic past, present, and future. This thesis seeks to investigate the sonicity of Hoyt’s artworks that recall this frequency. By drawing upon a constellation of Black Study, blurring the borders of aesthetics, and engaging Hoyt’s Afro Sonic Mapping research project, this thesis shapes a living methodology that can identify, analyze, and archive artworks that contain this notion of an Afrosonic aesthetic to the art historical canon
The Materiality of Sand and Nylon: Challenging Museological Convention and Conservation in Senga Nengudi’s R.S.V.P. Series
Get PDFThis thesis considers the ways in which artist Senga Nengudi’s R.S.V.P. series (1975-ongoing) occupies museum collections presently and how the works’ material conditions affect conservation processes. Further, this thesis seeks to understand Nengudi’s R.S.V.P. series as an unruly and rebellious form of cultural invention and intervention in the museum. R.S.V.P. is a series of sculptural and performative artworks that utilise worn, nylon pantyhose filled with sand to create bulbous, bodily forms, tautly pinned and stretched across the gallery walls or resting weighty upon the gallery floor. Bringing together interdisciplinary research, this thesis contends with the work’s materiality of pantyhose, sand, and its connection to skin, tactility, and the Black body to address the ongoing acquisition and conservation of R.S.V.P. within museums. As artworks that are ephemeral, tactile, and performative, they possess sensorial and haptic qualities that rebel against museological systems. By drawing on Black studies, contemporary conservation theories, and performance studies, this thesis calls for an ethics of care in attending to R.S.V.P. within a museological collection. Ultimately, it proposes that R.S.V.P. has the potential to redirect conservation processes away from traditional methods predicated on restoration and authenticity, urging institutions to engage with works in ways that meaningfully attend to their material and conceptual complexities
Robust optimization for an olive oil producer’s operations
Get PDFThis thesis examines how robust optimization can address the operational uncertainties faced by APIA, a major Moroccan olive oil producer. In an industry marked by fluctuating yields, shifting costs, and unpredictable market demand, robust optimization provides a practical approach to making decisions that remain reliable and nearly optimal, even when conditions change. The model developed in this research incorporates robust optimization techniques into APIA’s operations, balancing strategic long-term planning with the need for real-time adaptability. By allowing for scenario-based flexibility, the model tailors the level of conservatism to reflect specific uncertainties, ensuring solutions are both practical and resilient, even under worst-case scenarios. Scalable and computationally efficient, the model developed is designed to support key operational decisions in procurement, production, transportation and storage. Through numerical experiments, this thesis demonstrates how the model helps optimize APIA’s operations, reducing costs while maintaining operational stability. By managing variability effectively, this research offers APIA a strategic tool to navigate the complexities of the agro-industrial sector, improve profitability, and achieve sustainable growth.
Keywords: robust optimization, operational parameter uncertainty, olive oil supply chain
Insights into the roles of novel Epidermal Patterning Factors (EPFs) secreted peptides in stomatal development, and MAP phosphatases MKP2 and DsPTP1 in chloroplast development
Get PDFAs the global population grows and water scarcity becomes more pressing, improving photosynthetic efficiency and reducing crop losses due to drought stress are critical challenges for modern agriculture. This thesis addresses these challenges by investigating stomatal development, drought stress tolerance, and chloroplast biogenesis in plants. The primary objectives of the research were to identify epidermal patterning factors (EPF) signaling peptides involved in stomatal development in monocot model plant, Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium), to explore the role of Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) EPFL1, EPFL2, and EPFL3 genes in drought tolerance, and finally, to investigate the roles of Arabidopsis Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) phosphatases (MKP2 and DsPTP1) in chloroplast biogenesis. The findings revealed that Brachypodium EPF peptides (BdEPFL1-1, BdEPFL2-2, BdEPFL6-1, and BdEPFL6-2 play a role in stomatal patterning, with overexpression leading to reduced stomatal density, validated through complementation studies in Arabidopsis. In the drought tolerance study, overexpression of EPFL1 significantly enhanced drought resistance in an ABA-dependent manner, whereas EPFL2 worked in an ABA-independent manner, highlighting distinct regulatory pathways for these gene products. The final part of this research focused on the roles of MAPK phosphatases MKP2 and DsPTP1 in regulating chloroplast biogenesis. Mutant analyses showed that the absence of these phosphatases resulted in impaired chloroplast development, stunted growth, and an albino phenotype, revealing their role as negative regulators of chloroplast formation. Higher order mutants with mutant alleles for MAPKs revealed their likely downstream targets. These findings offer important insights into plant development, with implications for enhancing crop resilience and photosynthesis in response to global climate challenges
Links Between Parent-Child Storybook Reading and Children’s Vocabulary Acquisition and Writing Skills
Get PDFIn this study, 55 parents completed a Title Recognition Test (TRT) to measure their familiarity with children’s books, serving as a proxy for children’s exposure to storybooks at home. At school, children participated in three shared storybook reading sessions, with each session focusing on a new target vocabulary word. After each storybook reading at school, children were asked to write a response reflecting what they learned from the book. The story responses were later scored for lexical diversity (Type-Token Ratio) and invented spelling sophistication (using an adaptation from Gentry and Ouellette’s Monster Test, 2019). Vocabulary learning was also assessed by directly measuring target word definitions during a post-test activity. The findings revealed that children whose parents scored better on the TRT showed significantly greater lexical diversity in their responses. In addition, they demonstrated better learning of the target vocabulary introduced during the reading sessions at school. Conversely, children’s invented spelling was unrelated to their parents’ TRT scores. These results suggest that spelling may be more influenced by explicit instruction in letters and sounds, as found in previous research. Taken together, this study enriches our understanding of how parent-child shared reading experiences relate to children’s vocabulary use in writing. It also promotes free writing activities as valuable tools for assessing early literacy development
Undergraduate Music Students’ Perspectives on how their Training Experiences have Affected their Relationship to Music and Potential Implications for Music Therapy
Get PDFLiterature indicates that many undergraduate university students face challenges that may have significant impacts on their mental health and well-being. Furthermore, research indicates that undergraduate music students face unique challenges specific to their field of study. As an undergraduate music performance student, the researcher experienced some of these challenges, and as a music therapist, she felt that music therapy held potential to help. Therefore, the purpose of this study was twofold: to understand undergraduate music students’ perceptions on how their university music training experiences have changed their relationships with music, and to explore how music therapy could potentially serve as a personal resource for undergraduate music students, specifically with regard to fostering and/or maintaining a constructive relationship with music. Three undergraduate music students participated in individual qualitative interviews. A narrative summary of each participant’s interview was created. A cross-case analysis of these narrative summaries revealed themes that emerged within three pre-determined categories: (a) university music training experiences perceived as having a positive/helpful impact on participants’ relationship with music, (b) university music training experiences perceived as having a negative/unhelpful impact on participants’ relationship with music, and (c) participants’ perspectives on engaging in music therapy as a way of fostering and/or maintaining a constructive relationship with music. Limitations of the study, implications for music therapy practice, education, and advocacy as well as recommendations for future research are presented