An Explainable AI Tool for Operational Risks Evaluation of AI Systems for SMEs

This research addresses the challenges faced by SMEs in deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems ethically and securely. Engaging with twenty SMEs through workshops and surveys, we developed an evaluation tool utilizing explainable AI. This tool examines AI systems' robustness, biases, and vulnerabilities, ensuring ethical usage and legal compliance. By conducting a pilot study on AI-driven language models, we demonstrate the tool's ability to assess risks across various domains, fostering trust and accountability in AI integration for SMEs

Radiographers' Perspectives of the Challenges and Facilitators to the Implementation of Best Practices Within Forensic Radiography Practice:A Questionnaire

Introduction: Forensic radiography is an extended role and sub-speciality of diagnostic radiography. To ensure the medico-legal requirements of this practice are met, relevant postgraduate training and CPD maintenance must be evidenced, enabling practitioners to have awareness and ability to apply evidence-based best practices. A recent literature review identified issues in effectively implementing best practices within the paediatric forensic setting. This research sought to identify the issues from the radiographer’s perspective in the wider forensic settings.Methods: An online questionnaire comprising of quantitative and free-text qualitative questions was used. This was distributed using purposive sampling through the International Association of Forensic Radiographers (IAFR) website. The data was analysed using inductive narrative analysis.Results: The analysis generated three primary themes comprising of; organisational and radiographic community awareness and understanding, work-based cultural practices and training, education and CPD: the impacts of perceptions and understanding. These themes provide a valuable insight into the issues impacting full evidence-based practice implementation.Conclusion: This research highlights many complex factors influencing the effective implementation of best practices within the forensic radiography setting. Fundamental to these were the impacts of organisational and departmental understanding of the role of forensic radiography and the specific requirements that must be met for this role to be undertaken appropriately.Implications for Practice: Continued failure to recognise and address the issuespreventing effective implementation will have implications for the integrity of the medico-legal role and practice of forensic radiography. Enhanced recognition of the forensic radiography role and the development of tailored multi-faceted strategies acknowledging the unique requirements of the multi-disciplinary remit of this practice may help to address the ongoing lack of understanding

Flow-Based Detection of Botnets Through Bio-inspired Optimisation of Machine Learning

Botnets could autonomously infect, propagate, communicate and coordinate with other members in the botnet, enabling cybercriminals to exploit the cumulative computing and bandwidth of its bots to facilitate cybercrime. Traditional detection methods are becoming increasingly unsuitable against various network-based detection evasion methods. These techniques ultimately render signature-based ‘fingerprinting’ detection infeasible and thus this research explores the application of network flow-based behavioural modelling to facilitate the binary classification of bot network activity, whereby the detection is independent of underlying communications architectures, ports, protocols and payload-based detection evasion mechanisms. A comparative evaluation of various machine learning classification methods is conducted, to precisely determine the average accuracy of each classifier on bot datasets like CTU-13, ISOT 2010 and ISCX 2014. Additionally, hyperparameter tuning using Genetic Algorithm (GA), aiming to efficiently converge to the fittest hyperparameter set for each dataset was done. The bioinspired optimisation of Random Forest (RF) with GA achieved an average accuracy of 99.85% when it was tested against the three datasets. The model was then developed into a software product. The YouTube link of the project and demo of the software developed: https://youtu.be/gNQjC91VtOI.</p

Xenophon’s ‘Sustained Civic Income’ in the Ways and Means:Naïve, Exploitative and/or a Plan Ahead of its Time?

This article examines Xenophon’s proposal for what will be termed here a ‘Sustained Civic Income’ in his Ways and Means (Poroi e peri Prosodon) as an approach for preventing civil strife and promoting a type of self-sustaining prosperity among citizens, based (not unequivocally) on non-imperialist methods. The article considers some of the observable, epistemological roots for Xenophon’s scheme, with particular regard to the moral and political philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, alongside some Spartan exemplars. The article also contrasts Xenophon’s plan with Pericles’ juror pay along with some similar notions put forward by Aristophanes, particularly in his Wasps. The practicality of Xenophon’s plan is assessed with recourse to such real-world figures, in terms of size and population, as are available, albeit within obviously limited degrees of accuracy. The article asserts that the subject of something like a universal basic income is of considerable relevance to the present, perhaps even more so than it was pertinent to Xenophon’s own historical contex

Beyond fast fashion:consumer behavior, microfibre pollution, and sustainable fashion choices in the UK

Microfibre pollution from the fashion industry is a significant environmental issue, with low consumer awareness and action. This study examined UK consumers’ knowledge of microfibre pollution and factors influencing their intention to adopt sustainable fashion practices. It used the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) extended with mitigation strategies, age, and income. A survey of 350 participants, analysed with multinomial logistic regression and path analysis, revealed perceived behavioural control (PBC) as the strongest predictor of intention (β = 0.67), followed by subjective norms (SN) (β = 0.54) and attitudes (ATT) (β = 0.28). Mitigation strategies, such as public awareness campaigns and eco-labelling, significantly enhanced these predictors, directly (β = 0.45) and indirectly (β = 0.21). Age and income moderated these effects, with older and higher-income individuals showing stronger intentions. The findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to empower consumers and inform strategies for reducing microfibre pollution

The aged care industry:the next entrepreneurial frontier for Malaysian women entrepreneurs

Culture influences women entrepreneurs which impacts women's involvement in businesses, specifically in one of the promising areas i.e., health care industries, especially in emerging economies. Hence, the most straightforward possible unit of research for understanding the less involvement of women entrepreneurs is based on the experience of a group of people. A qualitative research strategy is suitable for exploratory studies. Therefore, semi-structured interview technique is used for data collection. The present study’s target population comprises of 10 women entrepreneurs of ageing care centres in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The fusion of phenomenology with the case study method could be sufficient for the researcher to understand why the aged care industry is called the next entrepreneurial frontier for women entrepreneurs. This implicates a promising business venture that fits the personality attributes of women such as soft and caring nature, politeness, empathy, and patience and at the same time matches the needs of the aged care industry. Despite less involvement of women entrepreneurs in the care centre business, women's entry into this type of business will open a new horizon as the aged care industry has immense potential for women's entrepreneurship

Opposing effects of the vertical seismic coefficient on cohesive and frictional contributions to seismic slope stability

The influence of the vertical seismic coefficient (kv) on pseudo-static (PS) and permanent displacement analyses remains underexplored. This study introduces a novel perspective by decomposing the factor of safety (F) into cohesive (Fc) and frictional (Fϕ) components, revealing that kv exerts opposing effects on these two components. The extent and critical direction (upward or downward) of kv’s impact depend on the relative contributions of Fc and Fϕ to slope stability. This perspective is first demonstrated analytically using a planar failure mechanism and further validated through a physics informed regression model (PIRM), which achieves accuracy comparable to log-spiral upper bound limit analysis (UBLA) and finite element limit analyses (FELA) for homogeneous slopes. The opposing effects are also confirmed for inhomogeneous slopes via finite element analyses (FEA). Additionally, the PIRM is reformulated to predict the horizontal yield coefficient (khy), a key input parameter in permanent displacement analysis. Parametric studies indicate that neglecting kv can overestimate F by up to 35 % and khy by up to 53 %, leading to unsafe designs. These findings highlight the necessity of incorporating kv into seismic slope stability assessments. The proposed PIRMs offer an efficient and reliable tool for preliminary and regional-scale evaluations

Metaphors of Economic Exploitation in Literature, 1885-1914:Vampiric Enterprise

This volume is concerned with a complex network of predatory economic metaphors which emerged, at the fin de siècle, in response to rapidly changing economic, social and political conditions. These are metaphors which dramatised the conflictual and exploitative basis of relations between nations, institutions, sexes and people in what was widely experienced as an belligerent economy. The book argues that this phenomenon emerges not simply out of individuals’ enraged sense of the injustices of an expanding capitalist world system but moreover is a product of the proliferation of related radical countercultures and the critical discourses that grew out of them. Through a careful reading of literature published across a variety of genres, this volume suggests we can discover how the writers of this time absorbed, evolved and sometimes disputed a language of opposition to the dominant economic order which is loaded with gothic images of monstrosity and appetitive appropriation

Impact of ultrasonication on the regeneration of tetracycline-saturated activated carbon and activated coke using persulfate

Activated carbon (AC) and activated coke (ACO) are being widely applied in China for drinking water purification and advanced treatment of secondary effluent, respectively. A cost-effective approach for regenerating these exhausted carbons is crucial. The combined ultrasonication (US) and peroxydisulfate (PDS) process was proved effective for regenerating tetracycline(TC)-saturated carbons. Optimal PDS concentration and regeneration time were identified while the regeneration efficiencies were stable across a wide initial solution pH range. Raman spectral intensity of the regenerated ACO is higher than that of the pristine ACO, while the intensity of the regenerated AC is particularly lower than that of the pristine AC. After US-PDS regeneration,the saturated ACO and AC retained 70.6 % and 46.7 % of their initial specific surface area, respectively. The average pore size of ACO decreased from 3.24 nm to 2.62 nm, while that of AC increased from 2.50 nm to 2.80 nm. Additionally, the proportion of micropores on ACO increased from 54.19 % to 66.98 %, while it decreased from 57.32 % to 49.16 % on AC. Consecutive adsorption-regeneration demonstrated similar regeneration performance for both carbons, with ACO being more practical due to its lower price and predominantly mesoporous structure. Both superoxide radicals (O2·-) and singlet oxygen (1O2) played the significant roles, with 1O2 contributing particularly highly in the US/ACO-PDS process. The regeneration of TC-saturated ACO and AC by US-PDS process primarily involves TC stripping and oxidation enhanced by ultrasonic waves and PDS

Effect of impact angle on hot corrosion resistance of abrasive water jet peened Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The effect of peening angle (10° to 40°) on NaCl induced hot corrosion behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was evaluated at 750 °C for 100 h. Peening at higher impact angles progressively increases the surface roughness, number of sub-grains, magnitude of compressive residual stresses and hardness of the alloy. During hot corrosion, the surfaces of Ti-6Al-4Al, irrespective of the peened condition, develops oxide scales that contain oxides of Ti, Al and V. Hot corrosion rate, measured in terms of rate of mass gain and the rate constant, Kp, was highest for the unpeened alloy but decreased for surfaces subjected to AWJ peening. Surfaces peened at increasing impact angles have smaller mass gain rate and the one peened at the impact angle of 30° exhibited the lowest corrosion rate and a lowest Kp of ∼0.08 mg2/cm4/h. The surface peened at 40° is, however, not as corrosion resistant. The mechanism of corrosion was discussed in the context of corrosion products formed and the opposing influences of initial roughness and compressive residual stresses. While higher roughness promotes hot corrosion by facilitating sites for corrosive attack, higher compressive residual stresses retard the diffusion of corrosive species into the Ti-6Al-4V surface. Based on these discussions, the optimum impact angle for AWJ peening for imparting maximum hot corrosion resistance on Ti-6Al-4V was determined to be ∼30°