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A Bio-inspired Approach to Cyber Security
No full textOwing to a growing reliance on information, technology and connectivity, Cyberspace has become the lifeline and interactive place for modern life. As such, Cyber security challenges are a global phenomenon whose adverse implications are catastrophic. Cyberspace is complex and unpredictable; its global connectedness and an explosion of data increases the threat surface as cyber infrastructures become highly complex and dynamic. Managing, i.e. ensuring and assuring security in cyberspace requires inspiration from advanced complex systems. Through evolution, nature has developed natural propensities in complex systems (including animalia and plants) that enable survival through adaptation. Predation-avoidance and anti-predation techniques employed by non-extinct preys could be exploited/adopted as mechanisms for adaptation through their application in Cyber security. This chapter presents an overall review of the current state of the Cyber security landscape. In addition, it demonstrates through further review, significant trends towards bio-inspired approaches as unconventional solutions to problems in other fields. Drawing from survivable preys in nature, the chapter speculates solutions for Cyberspace and Cyber security as follows; given an old problem (Pold) with an old solutions (Sold), a new problem (Pnew) can be conceptualized with new partial and perhaps null solutions (Snew) in the solutions space Sold to Snew.
Keywords: Bio-inspired, Artificial Life, Cyber security, Cyberdefense, Autonomic Computing, Survivability, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Predator-Prey
Psychological needs of neurotypical family members of individuals on the autism spectrum
Get PDFChapter 1 reviews the psychological needs of family members of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A systematic search strategy was followed and 12 studies were reviewed which were published since a review by Tint & Weiss in 2015. The synthesis discusses relationships between the difficult experiences and stress, coping mechanisms, and their link to resilience and reduction of stress in parents.
Recommendations from Tint & Weiss’ (2015) review which concerned mostly family members of adults with ASD, are reiterated by the presented review which contained research where the family member with ASD was a young person. Further qualitative research needs to be conducted in order to broaden the knowledge base and aim to understand the real life experiences of family members in order to develop the appropriate support to prevent escalation of family members’ difficulties.
Chapter 2 addresses the gap in the literature of qualitatively involving siblings in research as previous studies largely gathered quantitative data from parents about siblings as opposed to directly. Photovoice (2016) was used as a photo elicitation method which emphasises participant involvement in both gathering data and analysis. 5 siblings of children with ASD took photographs answering the question ‘what is it like having a brother with autism?’ before completing an individual interview and group session where participants themselves brought their photographs into overall themes. A thematic analysis revealed main themes of focussing on their brother, difficult times, coping mechanisms, and ‘it’s not all bad’.
Clinical implications and suggestions for resilience-based interventions are discussed, with reference to supporting previous findings from chapter 1.
Chapter 3 presents two executive summaries, one written to be appropriate for young people, and one appropriate to a parent, carer, or professional reader. These are written with the main aim of disseminating within local CAMHS services. NB: Papers within this thesis have been written with the intention of submission for publication to Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice. Extensive author guidelines for manuscript submission can be found in Appendix A, and have been followed as far as is compatible with the purpose of university submission
The relationship between individual coping styles, reported levels of resilience and self-blame cognitions as predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
Get PDFObjective
The aim of this literature review was to examine and summarise research investigating the relationship between coping and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in adults who have experienced trauma of a sexual nature. Trauma of a sexual nature was chosen as women are more likely to develop PTSD symptoms and be sexually assaulted.
Method
In May 2017; MEDLINE, CINAHL, PSYCInfo, PSYCArticles, SPORTDiscus, eBook Collection, PsycBOOKS, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and the British Library EThos were searched. Additional studies were hand searched from reference sections of identified studies and related reviews.
Results
Seventeen papers were identified and are included in the review. All of the papers used quantitative methods, and all looked at the relationship between coping to PTSD symptoms in adults who had been sexually assaulted .
Conclusions
The findings suggest there is a relationship between coping and PTSD symptoms in adults who have experienced trauma of a sexual nature. In particular there appears to be a relationship between maladaptive coping and increased PTSD symptoms, and maladaptive coping styles should be targeted during interventions. However the findings need to be considered with caution due to methodological flaws. Future research looking at the relationship is needed in different samples including males, and a much broader approach to research in this field is needed
Aiding the interpretation of forensic gait analysis: Development of a features of gait database
No full textIn response to the letter dated 28th May 2017, the authors of the paper entitled ‘Aiding the Interpretation of Forensic Gait Analysis: Development of a Features of Gait Database’ which was published in volume 56, issue 6 in December 2016, would like to clarify a number of points and address the issues raised by the letter's signatories. The substantive content of the letter has been addressed section by section
Embedding interdisciplinary and challenge-led learning into the student experience
Get PDFThe Chinese proverb often credited to 18th century US philosopher, scientist and civic leader Benjamin Franklin underpins the fundamental principle of experiential learning and forms the underlining framework for this chapter.
“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”
Benjamin Franklin
The Innovation and Creative Exchange (ICE) uses the concept of challenge-led learning to enable Undergraduate (UG) students to co-create knowledge and form knowledge communities/exchanges leading to the developments of skills and attributes associated with employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship. This chapter presents a blueprint for experiential learning in practice through employing interdisciplinary wicked challenge-led learning opportunities as part of the Higher Education (HE) UG experience. A case study is presented which focuses on specific elements of the ICE Project at the University of Huddersfield, UK. This project was initially funded through the Royal Academy of Engineering - Visiting Professors Scheme, with Professor Jonathan Sands - Vexillifer Elmwood, as the Visiting Professor of Innovation (VPI). Drawing on the work of Kolb (1984), ICE focuses on the elements of experiential learning concerned with concrete issues related to the learner and the learning context, so learning-by-doing. The case study presents a synthesis of impact in relation to interdisciplinary, wicked, design-led challenges from the student’s perspective.
It is widely recognised that in global society, environments are characterised by wicked problems, the solutions to which require transcendence of traditional discipline-based boundaries, new forms of knowledge-sharing and a tool belt of transferable skills. This wicked, messy context (Jordan et al. 2014), demands a shattering of traditional disciplinary boundaries and creates a strong rationale for embedding interdisciplinarity into the HE student learning experience. Furthermore, the call for HE to embed employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship opportunities into the student experience is compelling (DIUS 2008; QAA 2012; RAE 2012; McLeish and Strang 2014; DC 2015; BIS 2016). Graduates as societies’ leaders need to be highly skilled, commercially aware and able to apply creative ideas and innovations to practical real-world scenarios. The ICE project provides a direct experience in which the learner is actively involved in the real situation through global wicked challenges or commercial challenge-led activity. It brings together students from different disciplines and places value on what each learner brings to the educational experience, which is a key aspect of experiential learning. The case study presented is a synthesis of the feedback from the student participants (2012-2017) and commercial partners involved in a series of 24-hour/7-hour design challenges. This data is complemented by a series of interviews with a team of students 12 months after their initial challenge-led learning experience. It is framed in the core principles of experiential learning, learning-by-doing and learning through reflection-on-doing. The example featured in this chapter as a case-study is from the 24-hour design challenge in 2016, the theme of the challenge being: internet of things
A systematic review of randomised controlled trials assessing effectiveness of prosthetic and orthotic interventions
Get PDFCreativity, innovation effectiveness and productive efficiency in the UK
Get PDFPurpose Creativity is often referred to as a seedbed of innovation. As such it holds the key to better performance and the competitiveness of firms. To better understand how creativity influences birth and commercialization of innovations and productive efficiency of firms the paper investigates how hiring of employees with different creative skills impacts innovation process and productivity. The purpose of the paper is to determine the role of creativity in innovation behaviour and productive efficiency of firms. Design/Methodology/Approach Theoretical framework of the paper rests on pillars of evolutionary, Schumpeterian and endogenous growth literature contributions to the economics of innovation. The multi-stage analytical framework is applied to examine contribution of creativity to the decision of firms to innovate, investment in innovation activities, commercialization of innovations and firm efficiency. The econometric techniques of generalised tobit and simultaneous equations framework are applied to confidential data from the United Kingdom Innovation Survey in 2010-2012 period. Findings The investigation broadens our understanding of factors and forces that shape innovation process and improve productive efficiency of firms. It provides empirical evidence on an impact of the effectiveness of innovation process on the productivity of firms. The results reveal that creative skills contribute to the generation of novel ideas and investment in R&D but the ability to meet customer requirements draws from other organizational skills such as marketing or organizational innovations. Differences are revealed among economic sectors with respect to the forces driving the innovation process. Practical implications The results provide implications to managers regarding the management of innovation process. First, the study reveals how creative potential of employees can be optimally exploited in different stages of innovation process. Second, the research highlights number of other factors relevant in this process from the utilization of information, subsidies and the general management of human resources. Finally, the result suggest that sectoral heterogeneity should be taken into account in management of innovation activities of individual firms. Research limitations/implications Further research will be needed to investigate cross-country differences in management of creativity and its contribution to the innovation process and productivity. The limited availability of data on creativity and innovation activities of firms presents the most important limitation in this sense. The framework set by this paper can serve as direction for further investigations. Originality/Value While the impact of creativity on innovation has been addressed previously, this paper is one of first attempts to examine the linkages between management of creativity, effectiveness of innovation process and productive efficiency of firms within a single framework. One of reasons for this is the fact that it relies on the confidential dataset of firms not easily accessible to researcher
The Role of Qualitative Research in Clinical Trial Development: The EASE Back Study
Get PDFThis article outlines the rationale for adopting a mixed methods approach within randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and explores challenges associated in doing so. Taking the example of the EASE Back feasibility and pilot study (Evaluating Acupuncture and Standard care for pregnant womEn with BACK pain: ISRCTN49955124), we detail why and how we operationalized a concurrent-sequential mixed methods research design. We present key findings from the exploratory research (focus groups and interviews) and explain how these were integrated with descriptive findings (a national survey of physical therapists) in order to inform and refine the design of the explanatory phase (the pilot RCT). We conclude with a discussion of lessons learned and implications for future research design and conduct
Shakespeare Connected. Digging up New Place
No full textPresentation given at Shakespeare Connected: A showcase of current research. Saturday 14th April 2018.
Presentation given to support an online exhibition hosted by Shakespeare Birthplace Trust which has been established to provide a network of universities a place to publish on-line exhibitions. These exhibitions are based on the SBT collections and archives, and give insights into current research projects
Book Review The Director’s Prism: ETA Hoffmann and the Russian theatrical avant-garde
Get PDFThe year 2016 was a year for texts that support a re-evaluation of Russian theatre practitioners. Nikolai Demidov’s work was published in English, allowing for a deeper understanding of Russian acting methodologies and Dassia N. Posner’s publication is of equal value in relation to directing practice. This text is not another “how to” book on directing but, as Posner herself states, aides in the lifting of a veil of assumption around seminal directors. In this case, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Alexander Tairov, and Sergei Eisenstein
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