Formal security analysis of registration protocols for interactive systems: a methodology and a case of study

In this work we present and formally analyze CHAT-SRP (CHAos based Tickets-Secure Registration Protocol), a protocol to provide interactive and collaborative platforms with a cryptographically robust solution to classical security issues. Namely, we focus on the secrecy and authenticity properties while keeping a high usability. In this sense, users are forced to blindly trust the system administrators and developers. Moreover, as far as we know, the use of formal methodologies for the verification of security properties of communication protocols isn't yet a common practice. We propose here a methodology to fill this gap, i.e., to analyse both the security of the proposed protocol and the pertinence of the underlying premises. In this concern, we propose the definition and formal evaluation of a protocol for the distribution of digital identities. Once distributed, these identities can be used to verify integrity and source of information. We base our security analysis on tools for automatic verification of security protocols widely accepted by the scientific community, and on the principles they are based upon. In addition, it is assumed perfect cryptographic primitives in order to focus the analysis on the exchange of protocol messages. The main property of our protocol is the incorporation of tickets, created using digests of chaos based nonces (numbers used only once) and users' personal data. Combined with a multichannel authentication scheme with some previous knowledge, these tickets provide security during the whole protocol by univocally linking each registering user with a single request. [..]Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures, 8 listings, 1 tabl

Integrating Correctional and Community Health Care: An Innovative Approach for Clinical Learning in a Baccalaureate Nursing Program.

PROBLEM: With an evolving focus on primary, community-based, and patient-centered care rather than acute, hospital-centric, disease-focused care, and recognition of the importance of coordinating care and managing transitions across providers and settings of care, registered nurses need to be prepared from a different and broader knowledge base and skills set. A culture change among nurse educators and administrators and in nursing education is needed to prepare competent registered nurses capable of practicing from a health promotion, disease prevention, community- and population-focused construct in caring for a population of patients who are presenting health problems and conditions that persist across decades and/or lifetimes. While healthcare delivery is moving from the hospital to ambulatory and community settings, community-based educational opportunities for nursing students are shrinking due to a variety of reasons, including but not limited to increased regulatory requirements, the presence of competing numbers of nursing schools and their increased enrollment of students, and decreasing availability of community resources capable and willing to precept students in an all-day interactive learning environment. METHODS: A detailed discussion of one college of nursings\u27 journey to find an innovative solution and approach to the dilemma of limited and decreasing available community clinical sites to prepare senior level prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students for healthcare practice in the twenty-first century. FINDINGS: This article demonstrated how medium/maximum prisons can provide an ideal learning experience for not only technical nursing skills but more importantly for reinforcing key learning goals for community-based care, raising population-based awareness, and promoting cultural awareness and sensitivity. In addition, this college of nursing overcame the challenges of initiating and maintaining clinical placement in a prison facility, collaboratively developed strategies to insure student and faculty safety satisfying legal and administrative concerns for both the college of nursing and the prison, and developed educational postclinical assignments that solidified clinical course and nursing program objectives. Lastly, this college of nursing quickly learned that not only did nursing students agree to clinical placement in an all-male medium- to maximum-security prison despite its accompanying restrictive regulations especially as it relates to their access to personal technology devices, but there was an unknown desire for a unique clinical experience. CONCLUSION: The initial pilot program of placing eight senior level prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students in a 4,000-person all male medium- to maximum-security prison for their community clinical rotation has expanded to include three state-run maximum all male prisons in two states, a 3,000-person male/female federal prison, and several juvenile detention centers. Clinical placement of students in these sites is by request only, resulting in lengthy student waiting lists. This innovative approach to clinical learning has piqued the interest of graduate nurse practitioner (NP) students as well. One MSN, NP student has been placed in the federal prison every semester for over a year. Due to increasing interest from graduate students to learn correctional health nursing, the college of nursing is now expanding NP placement to the other contracted maximum-security prisons. This entire experience has changed clinical policies within a well-established academic culture and promoted creative thinking regarding how and where to clinically educate and prepare registered baccalaureate nurses for the new culture of health and wellness

Addressing environmental degradation and rural poverty through climate change adaptation: An evaluation of social learning in drought-affected districts of Southern India

The overall goal of this paper is to apply the climate change and social learning monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework of the CGIAR’s Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Policies and Institutions Flagship program to a climate change innovation platform. The Strategic Pilot project on Adaptation to Climate Change (SPACC) is selected to illustrate the usefulness of the social learning M&E framework and add to the social learning evidence base. The SPACC project was launched as a three-year (2010-2013) pilot initiative in Andhra Pradesh, a state in southern India to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of communities to respond to climate variability and change impacts in seven droughtprone districts. The social learning component of SPACC is captured at three levels: community level, project level and beyond the project level. The CCSL M&E framework identifies a total of 30 primary indicators across four areas that form key components of the theory of change, viz. Iterative Learning, Capacity Development, Engagement, and Challenging Institutions. Among these four areas, indicators for capacity building and iterative learning were most easily observable in the case of SPACC. While the process and outcome indicators were observed for Engagement, it was difficult to study the quality of engagement and its impact in terms of change in value/practice. Engagement can be quantified in terms of number of new institutions formed, representation of marginalized groups and number of Farmer Climate Schools conducted. It was difficult to study indicators relevant to challenging institutions, primarily because the SPACC activities tried to build on and strengthen existing institutional structures where possible. Additionally, as the project primarily focused on building capacities and knowledge base at the community level, the learning beyond the project level was not as evident

Internationalization of Higher Education for Sustainable Development

Riddling forms the basis for consensus building on agriculture and food security practices in Busoga. This style of discourse on agriculture and food contains symbols that build a collective knowledge base for the community to discuss, appreciate and deliberate on foodsRiddling forms the basis for consensus building on agriculture and food security practices in Busoga. This style of discourse on agriculture and food contains symbols that build a collective knowledge base for the community to discuss, appreciate and deliberate on food security. For example, the precedent by Nanyange Agnes, K.36: “Wansi mmere, wakati nku, waigulu iva – Below is food, the middle is firewood, above vegetable” (Edhikolyoka: Nsinze, 24.08.2009) opens discussion on food, firewood and vegetal source. Allusion to the cassava plant increases the farmers’ awareness of the value of cassava as a food secure crop. It also draws attention to other crops with similar characteristics thereby increasing knowledge on food security. Using contextual linguistic enquiry, the study interprets 10 selected riddle acts from Nsinze Seed School and Edhikolyoka riddling sessions performed at Nsinze on August 21 and 24, 2009. The study concludes that, riddling refreshes the performers’ power of observation of the society’s agricultural practices. Such insight influences teamwork and value to the crop. This interaction raises the quality of farming and quantity of production as it critically evaluates the utility, developments and challenges facing the farmer. The social interaction in riddling sharpens the mind of the audience participants to (re)think broadly and act specially. The study shows how riddling serves the purpose of crafting deeper knowledge of agriculture and farming practices through agricultural entertainment (agri-tainment). The prevalence of Kisoga riddle acts on food, food production and agricultural science shows that the Basoga are keen on mimicking food in art, to enliven livelihoods and instil individual shared benefits. This therefore confirm that riddles are critical forms of literature that teach and delight people beyond the literary

A Review Paper on: The Multi-Functional Implication of Integrated Watershed Management: The New Approach to Degraded Land Rehabilitation in Ethiopia

Land degradation is a major cause of Ethiopia’s low and declining agricultural productivity, persistent food insecurity and rural poverty. Above all, the degradation of the endowed natural resource is continuously affecting the productivity of the agricultural sector which is the backbone of the country’ economy. Therefore, to curb the situation, community based watershed management is being launched throughout the country in collaboration with government and other concerned bodies (Lakew et al., 2005; MaA, 2013; Gebregziabher, et al., 2016). In the past due to insufficient knowledge base, some misguided agricultural policies, coupled with a rapidly growing population, chronic poverty, and capricious rainfall have caused severe food security challenges for farm families and natural resource degradation. The present government taking lessons from the past, started community based integrated watershed management program removing all the shortcomings through the instrument of new policies for improved livelihood and living conditions of rural communities (Worku and Tripathi, 2015). The major advantages of community based integrated watershed management approaches are involvement of those most affected by the decision in all phases of the development of their watershed and holistic planning that addresses issues which extend across subject matter disciplines (biophysical, social, and economic sciences) and administrative boundaries like village, woreda etc.( Lakew et al., 2005). However, despite the government and other concerned bodies commitment to the implementation of this drastic new approach that leads to improvement of food security and a lessening of the dependence on food aid, to the scape of this paper, it was found the multi-functional implication of integrated watershed management is not well reviewed. Thus, the objective of this paper is to provide valuable information for scholars, policy makers and others thoroughly reviewing cases studies in different parts of Ethiopia

ORGANIC FARMING AND SOCIAL CAPITAL APPROACH IN THE RESTORATION OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL LIVELIHOODS IN A POST-CONFLICT SETTING: A CASE OF NORTHERN UGANDA

This report presents a discussion of how organic farming and social capital development can contribute towards the restoration of sustainable agricultural livelihoods in a post-conflict setting; with a case study of Northern Uganda. Strictly speaking, the paper goes beyond a simple exposition of the value of organic farming, but it attempts to explain the complex ways in which social capital relates with organic farming to revitalize sustainable agricultural systems, and how this can impact on the livelihoods of communities in a post-conflict situation, with respect to household food security and income

A secure seat at the academic high table? An exploratory study of the field of university-based teacher education for post-compulsory education and training in England: a Legitimation Code Theory analysis

As a specialised field of study in English universities, teacher education for the post-compulsory education and training sector (TE-PCET) is under-researched and under-theorised. By portraying the views and perspectives of teacher educators (TEds) about their knowledge context, practices and beliefs at a time of considerable flux for the PCET sector and for university provision of teacher education (TE) generally, the thesis makes a significant contribution to the empirical and theoretical literature for this field. Extensive interviews and programme documentation provided insight into its current state and security of tenure in the academy. Analysis and implications of the findings drew on Maton’s (2014) Legitimation Code Theory, an innovative analytic explanatory framework in which organising principles of knowledge practices were conceptualised. The findings suggest that TEds constructed their field as one of relative low autonomy with little collective agency to insulate itself from external sources of power and influence. It also lacked legitimacy and was marginalised in the academy. Absent a distinctive specialised pedagogy of TE-PCET to articulate an academic TEd identity, there was considerable ambivalence as to the focus and conduct of academic TE-PCET research. This influenced the field’s ability to develop a cohesive, distinctive community of scholars with implications for the framing of curricula and pedagogy. In sum, knowledge and knower specialisation were relatively weak in the intellectual and educational domains. In a circular way, this rendered TE-PCET as a specialism susceptible to extrinsic pressures. Analysis drew attention to the potential for TEds to raise the status of university-based TE-PCET; to strengthen its intellectual autonomy and the epistemic power of its knowledge base; and cultivation of a distinctly TEd disposition that would serve to enhance its cumulative knowledge-building potential. This could be achieved by a sustained focus on a distinctive ‘higher’ TE disciplinary discourse

A taxonomy of asymmetric requirements aspects

The early aspects community has received increasing attention among researchers and practitioners, and has grown a set of meaningful terminology and concepts in recent years, including the notion of requirements aspects. Aspects at the requirements level present stakeholder concerns that crosscut the problem domain, with the potential for a broad impact on questions of scoping, prioritization, and architectural design. Although many existing requirements engineering approaches advocate and advertise an integral support of early aspects analysis, one challenge is that the notion of a requirements aspect is not yet well established to efficaciously serve the community. Instead of defining the term once and for all in a normally arduous and unproductive conceptual unification stage, we present a preliminary taxonomy based on the literature survey to show the different features of an asymmetric requirements aspect. Existing approaches that handle requirements aspects are compared and classified according to the proposed taxonomy. In addition,we study crosscutting security requirements to exemplify the taxonomy's use, substantiate its value, and explore its future directions

Crossing the Digital Divide: Monism, Dualism and the Reason Collective Action is Critical for Cyber Theory Production

In studying topics in cyber conflict and cyber-security governance, scholars must ask—arguably more so than has been the case with any other emergent research agenda—where the epistemological and ontological value of different methods lies. This article describes the unique, dual methodological challenges inherent in the multifaceted program on global cyber-security and asks how problematic they are for scholarly efforts to construct knowledge about digital dynamics in world affairs. I argue that any answer to this question will vary depending on how one perceives the social science enterprise. While traditional dualistic perspectives on social science imply unique challenges for researcher, a monistic perspective of Weberian objectivity does not. Regardless of one’s perspective, however, the most important steps to be taken at the level of the research program are clearly those focused on constructing the trappings of community. To this end, I outline steps that might be taken to develop a range of community-building and -supporting mechanisms that can simultaneously support a micro-foundational approach to research and expose community elements to one another. Doing this stands to better opportunities for the production of knowledge and direct researchers towards fruitful avenues whilst shortening gaps between the ivory tower and the real world

Linking Peace, Security and Regional Integration in Africa

Ye