Can Autism be Catered with Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Intervention Technology? A Literature Review

This article presents an extensive literature review of technology based intervention methodologies for individuals facing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Reviewed methodologies include: contemporary Computer Aided Systems (CAS), Computer Vision Assisted Technologies (CVAT) and Virtual Reality (VR) or Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted interventions. The research over the past decade has provided enough demonstrations that individuals with ASD have a strong interest in technology based interventions, which are useful in both, clinical settings as well as at home and classrooms. Despite showing great promise, research in developing an advanced technology based intervention that is clinically quantitative for ASD is minimal. Moreover, the clinicians are generally not convinced about the potential of the technology based interventions due to non-empirical nature of published results. A major reason behind this lack of acceptability is that a vast majority of studies on distinct intervention methodologies do not follow any specific standard or research design. We conclude from our findings that there remains a gap between the research community of computer science, psychology and neuroscience to develop an AI assisted intervention technology for individuals suffering from ASD. Following the development of a standardized AI based intervention technology, a database needs to be developed, to devise effective AI algorithms

ESPOONERBAC_{{ERBAC}}: Enforcing Security Policies In Outsourced Environments

Data outsourcing is a growing business model offering services to individuals and enterprises for processing and storing a huge amount of data. It is not only economical but also promises higher availability, scalability, and more effective quality of service than in-house solutions. Despite all its benefits, data outsourcing raises serious security concerns for preserving data confidentiality. There are solutions for preserving confidentiality of data while supporting search on the data stored in outsourced environments. However, such solutions do not support access policies to regulate access to a particular subset of the stored data. For complex user management, large enterprises employ Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC) models for making access decisions based on the role in which a user is active in. However, RBAC models cannot be deployed in outsourced environments as they rely on trusted infrastructure in order to regulate access to the data. The deployment of RBAC models may reveal private information about sensitive data they aim to protect. In this paper, we aim at filling this gap by proposing \textbf{$\mathit{ESPOON_{ERBAC}}$} for enforcing RBAC policies in outsourced environments. $\mathit{ESPOON_{ERBAC}}$ enforces RBAC policies in an encrypted manner where a curious service provider may learn a very limited information about RBAC policies. We have implemented $\mathit{ESPOON_{ERBAC}}$ and provided its performance evaluation showing a limited overhead, thus confirming viability of our approach.Comment: The final version of this paper has been accepted for publication in Elsevier Computers & Security 2013. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1306.482

ESPOON: Enforcing Encrypted Security Policies in Outsourced Environments

The enforcement of security policies in outsourced environments is still an open challenge for policy-based systems. On the one hand, taking the appropriate security decision requires access to the policies. However, if such access is allowed in an untrusted environment then confidential information might be leaked by the policies. Current solutions are based on cryptographic operations that embed security policies with the security mechanism. Therefore, the enforcement of such policies is performed by allowing the authorised parties to access the appropriate keys. We believe that such solutions are far too rigid because they strictly intertwine authorisation policies with the enforcing mechanism. In this paper, we want to address the issue of enforcing security policies in an untrusted environment while protecting the policy confidentiality. Our solution ESPOON is aiming at providing a clear separation between security policies and the enforcement mechanism. However, the enforcement mechanism should learn as less as possible about both the policies and the requester attributes.Comment: The final version of this paper has been published at ARES 201

Technologies and solutions for location-based services in smart cities: past, present, and future

Location-based services (LBS) in smart cities have drastically altered the way cities operate, giving a new dimension to the life of citizens. LBS rely on location of a device, where proximity estimation remains at its core. The applications of LBS range from social networking and marketing to vehicle-toeverything communications. In many of these applications, there is an increasing need and trend to learn the physical distance between nearby devices. This paper elaborates upon the current needs of proximity estimation in LBS and compares them against the available Localization and Proximity (LP) finding technologies (LP technologies in short). These technologies are compared for their accuracies and performance based on various different parameters, including latency, energy consumption, security, complexity, and throughput. Hereafter, a classification of these technologies, based on various different smart city applications, is presented. Finally, we discuss some emerging LP technologies that enable proximity estimation in LBS and present some future research areas

MODERN APPROACH TOWARDS “STANDARD FORM” CONTRACTS: A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

In “Standard Form” contracts, one party drafts the terms and conditions and the other party is invited to accept it or leave it. Only option for the invited party is either adhere to all the terms and conditions or leave it altogether. Standard forms are commonly used in the contemporary complex world of mass corporations, mass production of goods and services among others. The use of standard terms and condition is not only limited to contracts in commercial transactions but also in contracts with public authorities, multinational organizations and giant corporations, banking, insurance and transportations etc. These contracts are termed and named differently in different jurisdictions. Sometimes it is referred to as standard-form contract or boilerplate agreements. The Standard Form contracts s are used abundantly in every field. Examples include insurance contacts, employment contracts, banking contracts, transportation, online websites and software among others. This study aim to discuss the origin and historical evolution of the standard form contracts including its characteristics and features. This study will also provide a comparison between the standard contracts and the conventional contractual Paradigm. Additionally, the principle of freedom of contract and initial judicial response to the contracts of adhesion has also been discussed in this study. Finally, the application of strict contract theory and modern approach towards standard form contracts, doctrine of Unconscionability has been discussed from legal prospective. This study will help to understand the rights of weaker parties and to protect them in any unjust situation arises from any such contract

Surgical management of blunt pancreatic trauma: A modus operandi or individualized therapy?

The overall rate of blunt pancreatic trauma observed in level one trauma centers is rather low compared to other injuries, with a reported prevalence of 0.4 per 100,000 hospital admissions. The situation may be further complicated by the presence of associated major visceral injuries in these patients. A number of previous reports indicate that blunt pancreatic trauma carries high morbidity and mortality rates, especially when diagnosis is delayed or inappropriate surgery is attempted. Many mandate prompt surgical explorations for organ-specific diagnosis on CT; however other literature and upcoming studies prove otherwise. Over the years, several technologic advances have increased the sophistication of non-operative management. In our case, a period of careful observation followed by surgical intervention did not adversely effect the outcome. The period of observation resulted in stabilization of other solid organ injuries with focus on pancreas during surgical exploration