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Comprehensive performance benchmarking and comparative analysis of active ransomware threats
No full textRansomware remains one of the most pervasive and disruptive cyber threats, with modern variants employing advanced techniques such as high-speed multithreaded encryption, obfuscation, and intermittent encryption to reduce detection opportunities and accelerate impact. Despite extensive research into detection and mitigation, few studies have systematically quantified the execution performance and behavioural characteristics of contemporary ransomware families. This paper fills this critical gap through a comprehensive, rigorous analysis of 29 active crypto-ransomware strains executed under controlled, isolated conditions.Two purpose-built datasets were developed: one, a verified ransomware corpus of the most active families, and the other, a structured target dataset emulating enterprise file systems. Controlled executions of each ransomware sample provided robust measurements of total execution time, pre-encryption delay, and encryption performance. Key findings include wide variation in encryption speeds (33 MB/s to 2.79 GB/s), distinct preparatory and encryption sequences, and frequent use of intermittent encryption to maximise throughput and evade detection.This research presents the first contemporary academic reproducible benchmark of ransomware execution performance. Through the release of these curated datasets and detailed empirical measurements, it addresses a critical gap in understanding ransomware behaviour. The study contributes a publicly accessible ransomware sample dataset, a structured benchmarking dataset, and a comparative performance analysis across major ransomware families. These results reveal how modern ransomware balances speed, stealth, and efficiency, highlighting the rapidly shrinking window for detection and response. The work establishes a rigorous benchmark for advancing research and practical defence development
Attentional Multimodal Speech Enhancement for Voice User Interface in Consumer Electronics
No full textVoice User Interfaces (VUI) in consumer electronics often operate in noisy environments where speech quality degrades significantly. We propose AV-Net, a lightweight audiovisual speech enhancement model that addresses this challenge through novel cross-attentional feature fusion. Our approach dynamically integrates audio and visual modalities using a computationally efficient architecture combining a convolutional encoder-decoder (5.2M parameters) with a P3D-ResNet18 video encoder. The key innovation is a cross-attention mechanism that learns inter-modal correlations while preserving modality-specific features, outperforming conventional fusion methods. Evaluated on TCD-TIMIT and AVSE3 datasets under challenging conditions (SNR ≤ -5dB), AV-Net achieves a PESQ of 2.56 (vs. 1.26 baseline) and STOI improvement of 22%, while maintaining real-time performance (RTF=0.11). The model demonstrates strong generalization to unseen speakers and diverse noise types, making it particularly suitable for resource-constrained edge devices in healthcare, automotive, and smart home applications where robust speech interaction is critical
Multi-Objective Dynamic System Model for the Optimal Sizing and Real-World Simulation of Grid-Connected Hybrid Photovoltaic-Hydrogen (PV-H2) Energy Systems
Get PDFHybrid renewable-hydrogen energy systems offer a promising solution for meeting the globe’s energy transition and carbon neutrality goals. This paper presents a new multi-objective dynamic system model for the optimal sizing and simulation of hybrid PV-H2 energy systems within grid-connected buildings. The model integrates a Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm that enables minimising both the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) and the building carbon footprint with a dynamic model that considers the real-world behaviour of the system components. Previous studies have often overlooked the electrochemical dynamics of electrolysers and fuel cells under transient conditions from intermittent renewables and varying loads, leading to the oversizing of components. The proposed model improves sizing accuracy, avoiding unnecessary costs and space. The multi-objective model is compared to a single-objective PSO-based model that minimises the LCOE solely to assess its effectiveness. Both models were applied to a case study within Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, UK. Results showed that minimising only the LCOE leads to a system with a 1000 kW PV, 932 kW electrolyser, 22.7 kg H2 storage tank, and 242 kW fuel cell, with an LCOE of 0.366 £/kWh and 40% grid dependency. The multi-objective model, which minimises both the LCOE and the building carbon footprint, results in a system with a 3187.8 kW PV, 1000 kW electrolyser, 106.1 kg H2 storage tank, and 250 kW fuel cell, reducing grid dependency to 33.33% with an LCOE of 0.5188 £/kWh
Object authenticity applied to imaginaries of racialized national culture: English-language-school sojourners in Australia
Get PDFThis study examines the experiences of international sojourners attending English-language schools in Australia, exploring how these students' imaginaries shape their expectations and perceptions of authenticity. Using qualitative interviews with students, teachers, and managers from eleven language centres in three Australian cities, we investigate sojourners' expectations of "authentic" cultural encounters and their reactions when these imaginaries meet the complex realities of multicultural Australia. Findings indicate that while sojourners pursue "object authenticity"—an idealized version of Australian culture informed by deficit discourses—their interactions often reveal tensions between pre-arrival stereotypes and the reality of the nation’s culture diversity. Teachers play a unique role in this experience, serving as both facilitators of cultural understanding and, paradoxically as participants in a staged performance of authenticity that meets students’ preconceived expectations. The study highlights the complexities of cultural authenticity in intercultural learning contexts, and suggests a need for language schools to adopt critical pedagogical approaches that challenge sojourners’ assumptions
Raport z projektu RESIST. Skutki i opór wobec mobilizacji "antygenderowych" w Europie. Raport o Polsce
Get PDFZmieniający się krajobraz społeczno-kulturowy Polski był przez lata areną intensywnego politycznego zaangażowania w zagadnienia płci i seksualności. Kwestie te stały się polem bitwy dla całego spektrum zróżnicowanych poglądów i interesów grupowych. Na tle tego krajobrazu zauważalnie i nieprzerwanie odznaczają się konserwatywne, a nawet wrogie postawy wobec równości płci i seksualności. Żeby zrozumieć skutki i wpływ polityki „antygenderowej” na życie codzienne w Polsce, w ramach projektu RESIST zorganizowano cztery grupy fokusowe i przeprowadzono 12 wywiadów indywidualnych. Rekrutacja osób uczestniczących w badaniu (łącznie 33 osoby) przebiegała zgodnie z zasadami doboru próby metodą klasteryzacji oraz metodą kuli śnieżnej, polegającą na docieraniu do potencjalnych osób uczestniczących za pomocą osób już zrekrutowanych.Odnotowano kilka różnych sposobów, w jakie polityka „antygenderowa” wpływa na życie codzienne w Polsce. Powszechne są doświadczenia nękania i zastraszania oraz systemowej, instytucjonalnej dyskryminacji. Media społecznościowe należą do platform, na których można spotkać się z wieloma nienawistnymi wypowiedziami i postawami. Instytucje publiczne nie zajmują się odpowiednio kwestiami różnorodności płciowej i seksualnej. Urzędnikom i urzędniczkom oraz administratorom i administratorkom często brakuje odpowiedniego języka oraz wiedzy, żeby zająć się indywidualnymi przypadkami; nie mogą też wdrażać polityk i przepisów, ponieważ takowe w dużej mierze nie istnieją.W rezultacie osoby uczestniczące w badaniu doświadczają wypalenia i wyczerpania, a koszty emocjonalne codziennego radzenia sobie z dyskryminującą i nienawistną atmosferą oceniają jako wysokie. Polityka „antygenderowa” wpływa negatywnie na zdrowie psychiczne i ogólny dobrostan społeczności mniejszościowych w Polsce, bo to właśnie one są jej głównym celem.Inne zaobserwowane skutki to motywowana lękiem i obawą autocenzura. Osoby świadomie ukrywają informacje o sobie, żeby uniknąć narażenia się na potencjalną dyskryminację. Zgłoszono również poważne przypadki uszkodzenia ciała i mienia.Osoby, które wzięły udział w naszym badaniu, zauważyły jednak również, że polityka „antygenderowa” wywołała pewne „efekty rykoszetu”. Należy do nich rosnąca mobilizacja społeczna na rzecz queerowo-feministycznych postulatów i dążeń. Postawy społeczne pozytywnie zmieniają się w kierunku większej akceptacji oraz wsparcia dla grup mniejszościowych i postaw feministycznych.Osoby wielokrotnie marginalizowane ze względu na swoje intersekcjonalne usytuowanie w kilku grupach mniejszościowych zazwyczaj bardziej dotkliwe odczuwają skutki polityki „antygenderowej”. Ich tożsamość płciowa i seksualna jest często spychana na drugi plan, ponieważ osoby te muszą wybierać pomiędzy wieloma problemami, z którymi się borykają lub do których zmiany dążą.Osoby uczestniczące w badaniu radzą sobie z wpływem „antygenderu” na ich życie na różne sposoby: izolują się, wycofują lub, wręcz odwrotnie, mobilizują na nowo. Silny etos wsparcia społecznego, wzajemnej troski i praktyk solidarnościowych stanowi istotny sposób wspólnego radzenia sobie z presją wywieraną przez politykę „antygenderową”
You Can't Exclude Us Anymore! A Critical Reflection of Inclusive Research and Teaching Opportunities for People With Intellectual Disabilities in University Settings
No full textA Novel Reciprocal Domain Adaptation Neural Network for Enhanced Diagnosis of Chronic Kidney Disease
No full textChronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global health concern caused mostly by high blood pressure and glucose levels. Detecting CKD early is critical for reducing its negative consequences since it can lead to increased mortality rates. With CKD's rising incidence expected to make it the fifth biggest cause of death by 2040, rapid advances in diagnostic approaches are required. This study presents the Reciprocal Domain Adaptation Network (RDAN) as a potential approach to the various issues of CKD diagnosis. RDAN is a neural network model that will help to traverse the complexity of CKD diagnosis by smoothly combining diverse data sets. RDAN consists of two critical units at its foundation: Mutual Model Adaptation (MMA) and Domain Model Learning. The MMA unit uses a powerful Global and Local Pyramid Pooling technique to extract rich features from a variety of data domains. Meanwhile, the DML unit uses semi-supervised domain-independent features combined with MMA features to improve representation learning. RDAN includes a reciprocal regularizer to promote cross-domain knowledge transfer, maximising feature representation for accurate CKD identification. An analysis of RDAN's performance on a variety of real-world datasets showed remarkable results in terms of accuracy (96.94%), precision (98.81%), recall (98.73%), F1-Score (98.88%), and area under the curve (AUC—99.35%). These results highlight the unmatched expertise of RDAN in managing data bias, domain changes, and privacy issues related to CKD diagnosis. Beyond statistical measures, RDAN's implications promise revolutionary breakthroughs in early CKD identification and subsequent therapeutic therapies. RDAN stands out as a groundbreaking method for diagnosing CKD. It delivers exceptional accuracy and can be seamlessly applied in various clinical environments
Bridging Scholarship and Practice in Higher Education: Fostering Innovative Research and Enhancing Teaching
No full textBridging Scholarship and Practice in Higher Education is a practical guide for educators aiming to integrate research into their teaching. Accessible and engaging, it provides clear strategies to enhance the learning experience by connecting research and teaching in meaningful ways.Covering key aspects of integrating research into teaching, including how to incorporate current research into existing curricula, as well as designing research-driven modules, this book explores the challenges of aligning research with institutional objectives and offers advice on effective dissemination of research findings. Ethical research practices and the importance of collaborating with students as research partners are emphasised in order to foster a richer, more collaborative educational environment. Each chapter includes practical examples and activities, providing educators with the tools needed to apply these concepts in their own teaching practice.This book will serve as a useful companion for those new to higher education teaching, including participants in Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Higher Education courses. It will have an additional benefit for anyone looking to refresh their teaching and research practice, alongside academics, librarians, and educational professionals
Abstract Policing, Covid-19 and the ‘Rural Idyll’ in Scotland
Get PDFThe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on rural ‘policing’ (broadly defined to include a range of institutions involved in order maintenance) remains relatively under-discussed and under-theorised. The pandemic created particular challenges for these services in rural areas, particularly in the context of increasingly abstract forms of policing following the creation of Police Scotland and other forms of service provision, and the interaction of these with rurally-contingent inequalities. These were especially felt in rural areas, as were concerns about tourism as a possible (social and epidemiological) threat to rural life. Drawing on qualitative data from two projects, we use a novel interdisciplinary synthesis of theories of ‘abstract policing’ (Terpstra et al., 2019) and the ‘rural idyll’ (Cloke 2003) to show how the pandemic acted as a flashpoint for a range of concerns about policing and social order in rurality
Evaluation of the initial rollout of the physical activity referral standards policy in Scotland: a qualitative study
Get PDFObjectives: Physical activity referral schemes (PARS) allow healthcare professionals to refer patients for physical activity support. Evidence of effectiveness is equivocal. Public Health Scotland has developed ‘physical activity referral standards’ that aim to enhance quality, reduce variability in design and delivery and build further evidence of what works. This study evaluated stakeholder perspectives on the initial reach, adoption, implementation and effectiveness of the standards. Design: A qualitative study using individual, online, semistructured interviews to explore stakeholder awareness and willingness to use the standards. We analysed data using the framework method within the context of the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) framework. Setting: Data were collected across 28 local authorities in rural and urban areas of Scotland between December 2022 and June 2023. Participants: 73 stakeholders, including scheme managers (n=34), senior managers from provider organisations (n=9), healthcare professionals (n=19) (general practitioners, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists) and policy stakeholders (n=11). Results: 72.6% of stakeholders were aware of the physical activity referral standards, and they were widely welcomed. Healthcare professionals were the least informed. Participants appeared willing to adopt the standards, and stakeholders reported using them to help with service planning, audit delivery processes, identify service gaps, inform monitoring and evaluation plans and understand and communicate the roles and responsibilities of different partners. Barriers to implementation included lack of healthcare professional awareness, funding and workforce capacity. Views about the minimum dataset (suggested essential or desirable data fields to be collected for monitoring and evaluation) contained in the standards were divided. Some thought it useful, but others considered it onerous or aspirational, and it was unclear whether all service delivery stakeholders would have the resources or capacity to collect and analyse the data. Conclusions: The delivery of the standards could be enhanced by a comprehensive communication strategy and by addressing the lack of funding, workforce delivery capacity and skills/capacity required to collect and interpret the proposed minimum national dataset
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