Application of machine learning techniques to the flexible assessment and improvement of requirements quality

It is already common to compute quantitative metrics of requirements to assess their quality. However, the risk is to build assessment methods and tools that are both arbitrary and rigid in the parameterization and combination of metrics. Specifically, we show that a linear combination of metrics is insufficient to adequately compute a global measure of quality. In this work, we propose to develop a flexible method to assess and improve the quality of requirements that can be adapted to different contexts, projects, organizations, and quality standards, with a high degree of automation. The domain experts contribute with an initial set of requirements that they have classified according to their quality, and we extract their quality metrics. We then use machine learning techniques to emulate the implicit expert’s quality function. We provide also a procedure to suggest improvements in bad requirements. We compare the obtained rule-based classifiers with different machine learning algorithms, obtaining measurements of effectiveness around 85%. We show as well the appearance of the generated rules and how to interpret them. The method is tailorable to different contexts, different styles to write requirements, and different demands in quality. The whole process of inferring and applying the quality rules adapted to each organization is highly automatedThis research has received funding from the CRYSTAL project–Critical System Engineering Acceleration (European Union’s Seventh Framework Program FP7/2007-2013, ARTEMIS Joint Undertaking grant agreement no 332830); and from the AMASS project–Architecture-driven, Multi-concern and Seamless Assurance and Certification of Cyber-Physical Systems (H2020-ECSEL grant agreement no 692474; Spain’s MINECO ref. PCIN-2015-262)

HotFuzz: Discovering Algorithmic Denial-of-Service Vulnerabilities Through Guided Micro-Fuzzing

Contemporary fuzz testing techniques focus on identifying memory corruption vulnerabilities that allow adversaries to achieve either remote code execution or information disclosure. Meanwhile, Algorithmic Complexity (AC)vulnerabilities, which are a common attack vector for denial-of-service attacks, remain an understudied threat. In this paper, we present HotFuzz, a framework for automatically discovering AC vulnerabilities in Java libraries. HotFuzz uses micro-fuzzing, a genetic algorithm that evolves arbitrary Java objects in order to trigger the worst-case performance for a method under test. We define Small Recursive Instantiation (SRI) as a technique to derive seed inputs represented as Java objects to micro-fuzzing. After micro-fuzzing, HotFuzz synthesizes test cases that triggered AC vulnerabilities into Java programs and monitors their execution in order to reproduce vulnerabilities outside the fuzzing framework. HotFuzz outputs those programs that exhibit high CPU utilization as witnesses for AC vulnerabilities in a Java library. We evaluate HotFuzz over the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), the 100 most popular Java libraries on Maven, and challenges contained in the DARPA Space and Time Analysis for Cybersecurity (STAC) program. We evaluate SRI's effectiveness by comparing the performance of micro-fuzzing with SRI, measured by the number of AC vulnerabilities detected, to simply using empty values as seed inputs. In this evaluation, we verified known AC vulnerabilities, discovered previously unknown AC vulnerabilities that we responsibly reported to vendors, and received confirmation from both IBM and Oracle. Our results demonstrate that micro-fuzzing finds AC vulnerabilities in real-world software, and that micro-fuzzing with SRI-derived seed inputs outperforms using empty values.Comment: Network and Distributed Systems Security (NDSS) Symposium, San Diego, CA, USA, February 202

New Advances in Formosan Linguistics

The present volume is a festschrift in honour of Lillian M. Huang, who, in a very few years, became a leading figure in Formosan linguistics after she obtained her PhD degree in 1987. Over the past twenty-eight years, she has been involved in important groundwork, in both academia and indigenous language policies in Taiwan, as we will show below (sections 3 and 4). She has been engaged in the development of both through her pre-eminent role in projects relating to typological studies on Formosan languages in the early 1990s, and on language teaching materials and proficiency tests since the late 1990s and early 2000s. Lillian may retire in a few years. Before she does, we thought it would be most appropriate to honour her by putting together papers by a number of scholars and students who have benefitted from or have been in contact with her in one way or another (e.g. through collaborative work, teaching, supervising, advising etc.). The idea of such a volume was conceived by Elizabeth Zeitoun in the autumn of 2009. Further plans were initially worked out with Stacy F. Teng, soon joined by Joy J. Wu. The three editors have been close to Lillian since the early and mid 1990s. Of the three, Zeitoun, who has been working with her on diverse projects for over twenty years, is her closest collaborator on the academic level. Both Wu and Teng were Lillian’s MA supervisees. Through her fieldwork courses, she introduced Wu to Amis and Teng to Puyuma, languages on which they are still working. The title of the present volume, New advances in Formosan linguistics, reflects our pursuit of publishing cutting-edge, provocative, and thoughtful papers that explore new directions and perspectives on Formosan languages and linguistics. It is worth noticing that this is the first collected volume on Formosan languages that has not issued from a workshop or a conference—the papers included in this volume are thus varied in terms of topic coverage—and the first that specifically deals with (and covers nearly all) the Formosan languages, a grouping understood in its broader context, that is, including Yami, a Batanic (Philippine) language spoken on Orchid Island under the political jurisdiction of Taiwan. (Note: first three paragraphs of foreward)

A literacy model for sustainable avitourism

Avitourism (birding) in South Africa, with remarkable birdlife, provides economic, social and conservation opportunities. Globally, bird species are decreasing rapidly due to environmental degradation and climate change. The dependence of avitourism on natural resources is undisputable, urging further research. Avitourism research is embryonic compared to higher-order tourism markets (i.e. naturebased) and under-researched in the southern hemisphere. Despite increased international scholarship, substantial knowledge gaps remain regarding strategies to enhance sustainable avitourism. Education, encouraging changes in environmental behaviour, is essential to solve environmental problems. The current day learners influence the future state of the natural environment and consequently the sustainability of avitourism in South Africa. The research therefore aimed to develop a literacy model for sustainable avitourism aimed at secondary school learners in Gauteng (South Africa). In phase 1 of the methodological procedure, mechanisms facilitating behavioural change towards nature were explored. A conceptual literacy framework for sustainable avitourism was developed in phase 2 (theoretical contribution). Phase 3, consisted empirical research. Multi-stage sampling was used to collect primary data by distributing questionnaires at 17 purposively selected secondary schools in Gauteng from July to October 2014. The data were obtained from n = 5 488 secondary school learners (aged 13–17). Descriptive statistics provided insight into ‘environmental and avitourism literacy’ of the learners. Exploratory- and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA; CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were employed to test the conceptual literacy framework. Obtaining the primary objective, a literacy model for sustainable avitourism was developed and confirmed (empirical contribution). Critical paths were identified in the model to enhance the likelihood of behavioural change. The literacy model could be useful for environmental education and avitourism roleplayers, assisting in curriculum development and evaluation (practical contribution). This model could also be applied to other educational contexts, including art and music. Bird education teaches a love for birds and nature, leading to conservation and sustained birdlife, to ensure avitourism attractions in the future. The development of sustainable avitourism intervention programmes is suggested for further research. Longitudinal research could evaluate the effects of the intervention programmes.Ultimately, the learners of today are the responsible citizens and tourists of tomorrow.Abstract in English, Sesotho and AfrikaansTransport, Logistics and TourismD.Phil. (Management Studies

Recreation, tourism and nature in a changing world : proceedings of the fifth international conference on monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas : Wageningen, the Netherlands, May 30-June 3, 2010

Proceedings of the fifth international conference on monitoring and management of visitor flows in recreational and protected areas : Wageningen, the Netherlands, May 30-June 3, 201

Forest/woodlands resource conservation and environmental education in rural Africa : a comparative study of Nigeria and South Africa

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education, The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Philosophiæ Doctor 29 July 2009Several recent studies have recognised the importance of forests in sub-Saharan Africa because these forests, with varying levels of degradation, form a significant proportion of global forests. Equally acknowledged and well documented are the levels of dependency on these resources by rural people, who constitute the majority of the continent’s population. Various policies and legal responses have been established and implemented at international, regional and national levels but these have failed to reduce the dependence on and degradation of forest resources. However, relatively few studies and environmental education programmes have been directed at understanding the social and cultural dimensions of forest resource use and conservation across African countries. There is a significant gap in the understanding of the socio-economic issues in forest resource conservation and environmental education among rural people, especially from cross-country perspectives. Thus, the purpose of this study has been to undertake a comparative analysis of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards forest resource conservation and environmental education between the rural inhabitants of Ijebu in Ogun State, Nigeria and the rural people of Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. This comparison was done to develop a conceptual framework which could guide policy recommendations and intervention programmes in the study areas. The study explored the differences and commonalities in the socio-economic activities of the targeted rural communities with respect to their knowledge, attitudes and practices toward forest resource conservation. The central question addressed was: How do socio-demographic variables in the two countries (such as gender, education, occupation and livelihood) relate to forest resource conservation relative to the local knowledge, interest, awareness, attitudes and practices of the people? In addition, this study interrogated the attitudes and understanding of rural people regarding government forest policies and environmental education initiatives. As an inter-disciplinary study, both political ecology and planned behaviour theories were used as the basis of the theoretical framework. Because of the nature of the study and gaps identified in previous studies, a combination of both qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed (such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, document analysis, participant observation, informal conversations and questionnaires). Using a questionnaire, 600 randomly selected households (from six rural communities in the two countries) were surveyed. Participants’ responses were subjected to analysiss using descriptive and inferential statistics. Content analyses of recorded in-depth-interviews, focus group discussion and documented forest policies were carried out, and related to the survey results. Notwithstanding regional differences, and contrary to expectation, the study found a greater range of convergence (rather than divergence) between the communities in the two areas. Even though statistical differences were observed in the areas of knowledge, interest, awareness, importance, and practices of forest resource conservation among the people, there were surprising similarities in their attitudes and understanding – and low support for government forest policies. There was an overwhelming dependency on forest resources at household and national economy iv levels in both study areas and specifically in the two target groups. It was discovered that socio-demographic variables (gender, education, and age) interacted with knowledge, interest, awareness, importance, attitudes and practices of forest resource conservation. The results indicated that the correlations found between the genders, and their attitudes and practices, are common in both countries. This research is the first cross-cultural and national environmental survey to be undertaken between these two countries and regions. The study contributes towards a greater understanding of both the potential impacts and limitations of forest conservation policies (as instruments to achieve sustainable development in the forest resource-rich areas of developing countries) and the currently under-utilised role of community based environmental education in promoting forest conservation. This study suggests various policy and environmental educational options to minimise the trade-off between forest conservation and human livelihood by addressing the fundamental socio-economic, cultural and political constraints that affect the design and implementation of forest conservation initiatives. In addition, this research has demonstrated that understanding the ways in which meaning is socially constructed and contested in relation to forest resources is important for effective forest protection, management and conservation

Proceedings of 8th ITSA Biennial Conference 2020

Over the past few decades, hotel guests’ service expectations grew from services such as check-in and check-out (Cobanoglu, Corbaci, Moreo & Ekinci, 2003) to expecting hotels to, amongst others, provide services relating to tourist attractions (Adler & Gordon, 2013; Yeh, Leong, Blecher & Hu, 2005). Despite these developments, South Africa (SA) is amongst the countries confronted by the minimal utilisation of tourist attractions (National Department of Tourism, 2012) and the tourists’ lack of awareness of tourist attractions within major destinations, such as Cape Town (City of Cape Town, 2013) and Durban (eThekwini Municipality, 2014). By providing tourists with services relating to tourist attractions, hotels are likely to contribute towards addressing the minimal utilisation and lack of awareness of tourist attractions. Guest orientation (Lee, 2014), self-efficacy (Jaiswal & Dhar, 2015), motivation (Hon & Leung, 2011) and effort (Marić, Marinković, Marić & Dimitrovski, 2016) are constructs that impact on the service performance of hotel staff. However, studies have not been conducted to determine the impact of these constructs on the performance of hotel staff relating to tourist attractions. This paper forms part of a PhD study in progress which explores the constructs (Guest orientation, Self-efficacy, Motivation and Effort) that impact on hotel staff’s performance of services relating to tourist attractions. The PhD adopted a qual-QUANT research method to, in phase 1, qualitatively identify emerging themes from each construct, which will be quantitatively investigated in phase 2. This paper stems from phase 1 and aims to identify via qualitative research the key themes that emerge in each of the four constructs that are associated with hotel staff’s performance of services relating to tourist attractions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four certified hotel concierges belonging to Les Clefs d’ Or in SA. Thematic coding was used to identify the themes emerging from the qualitative data. Eight themes emerged from Guest orientation, five from Self-efficacy, seven from Motivation and ten from Effort

Culture, People and Technology: The Driving Forces for Tourism Cities Proceedings of 8th ITSA Biennial Conference 2020

This is the proceedings of the 8th Biennial Conference of the International Tourism Studies Association, held in Jakarta and Singapore, 2nd December 202

Smoking and Second Hand Smoking in Adolescents with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Report from the Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD) Cohort Study

The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of smoking and second hand smoking [SHS] in adolescents with CKD and their relationship to baseline parameters at enrollment in the CKiD, observational cohort study of 600 children (aged 1-16 yrs) with Schwartz estimated GFR of 30-90 ml/min/1.73m2. 239 adolescents had self-report survey data on smoking and SHS exposure: 21 [9%] subjects had “ever” smoked a cigarette. Among them, 4 were current and 17 were former smokers. Hypertension was more prevalent in those that had “ever” smoked a cigarette (42%) compared to non-smokers (9%), p\u3c0.01. Among 218 non-smokers, 130 (59%) were male, 142 (65%) were Caucasian; 60 (28%) reported SHS exposure compared to 158 (72%) with no exposure. Non-smoker adolescents with SHS exposure were compared to those without SHS exposure. There was no racial, age, or gender differences between both groups. Baseline creatinine, diastolic hypertension, C reactive protein, lipid profile, GFR and hemoglobin were not statistically different. Significantly higher protein to creatinine ratio (0.90 vs. 0.53, p\u3c0.01) was observed in those exposed to SHS compared to those not exposed. Exposed adolescents were heavier than non-exposed adolescents (85th percentile vs. 55th percentile for BMI, p\u3c 0.01). Uncontrolled casual systolic hypertension was twice as prevalent among those exposed to SHS (16%) compared to those not exposed to SHS (7%), though the difference was not statistically significant (p= 0.07). Adjusted multivariate regression analysis [OR (95% CI)] showed that increased protein to creatinine ratio [1.34 (1.03, 1.75)] and higher BMI [1.14 (1.02, 1.29)] were independently associated with exposure to SHS among non-smoker adolescents. These results reveal that among adolescents with CKD, cigarette use is low and SHS is highly prevalent. The association of smoking with hypertension and SHS with increased proteinuria suggests a possible role of these factors in CKD progression and cardiovascular outcomes