203 research outputs found

    Social Metaverse: Challenges and Solutions

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    Social metaverse is a shared digital space combining a series of interconnected virtual worlds for users to play, shop, work, and socialize. In parallel with the advances of artificial intelligence (AI) and growing awareness of data privacy concerns, federated learning (FL) is promoted as a paradigm shift towards privacy-preserving AI-empowered social metaverse. However, challenges including privacy-utility tradeoff, learning reliability, and AI model thefts hinder the deployment of FL in real metaverse applications. In this paper, we exploit the pervasive social ties among users/avatars to advance a social-aware hierarchical FL framework, i.e., SocialFL for a better privacy-utility tradeoff in the social metaverse. Then, an aggregator-free robust FL mechanism based on blockchain is devised with a new block structure and an improved consensus protocol featured with on/off-chain collaboration. Furthermore, based on smart contracts and digital watermarks, an automatic federated AI (FedAI) model ownership provenance mechanism is designed to prevent AI model thefts and collusive avatars in social metaverse. Experimental findings validate the feasibility and effectiveness of proposed framework. Finally, we envision promising future research directions in this emerging area.Comment: Accepted by Internet of Things Magazine in 23-May 202

    Predictive embodied concepts: an exploration of higher cognition within the predictive processing paradigm

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    Predictive processing, an increasingly popular paradigm in cognitive sciences, has focused primarily on giving accounts of perception, motor control and a host of psychological phenomena, including consciousness. But higher cognitive processes, like conceptual thought, language, and logic, have received only limited attention to date and PP still stands disconnected from a huge body of research in those areas. In this thesis, I aim to address this gap and I attempt to go some way towards developing and defending a cognitive-computational approach to higher cognition within the predictive processing paradigm. To test its explanatory potential, I apply it to a range of linguistic and conceptual phenomena. I proceed in three steps. First, I lay out an account of concepts and suggest how concepts are represented, how they can be context-sensitively processed, and how the apparent diversity of formats arise. Secondly, I propose how paradigmatic higher cognitive competencies, like language and logical reasoning, could fit into the PP picture. Thirdly, I apply the PP account of concepts and language to a range of linguistic-conceptual phenomena as test cases, namely: metaphor, the semantic paradox (specifically the Liar Paradox) and copredication. Finally, I discuss some challenges and objections to the PP framework as applied to higher cognition and in general

    A critical examination of the relevance of John Wesley’s economic ethics in contemporary South Africa with specific reference to unemployment, poverty and inequality.

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    Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.John Wesley did not specifically seek to propose structured “economic ethics”, but rather was the chief tutor to the people called Methodists on the economic ordering of their lives during 18th century England. While Wesley taught and preached among the poor, he never pronounced on the Elizabethan Poor Laws, the most comprehensive yet poorly implemented government sponsored program aimed at fighting poverty. The study notes that John Wesley’s mother, Suzanna Wesley, had an immense influence on him. Since she was a conformist as John later became, choosing to turn a blind eye to inefficiencies in the state. It is from this context that his ethics emerged. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to illumine his economics ethics. Conditions of unemployment, poverty and inequality in contemporary South Africa will also be illumined in the study. This study argues that while Wesley’s teachings may appear primordial, they can be appropriated to the current situation in South Africa. Specifically, the study argues that John Wesley’s economic ethics are premised on the four economic principles of the need for government intervention, honest and life-enhancing work, poverty alleviation and the equitable distribution of wealth. Furthermore, the study concludes that these principles remain relevant and can be appropriated to contemporary South Africa in addressing the socio-economic contexts of unemployment, poverty and inequality. On the basis of this appropriation, the study develops three propositions: a political dispensation which focuses on employment creation, the building of an inclusive economy, and mobilization for social cohesion

    Open Source Law, Policy and Practice

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    This book examines various policies, including the legal and commercial aspects of the Open Source phenomenon. Here, ‘Open Source’ is adopted as convenient shorthand for a collection of diverse users and communities, whose differences can be as great as their similarities. The common thread is their reliance on, and use of, law and legal mechanisms to govern the source code they write, use, and distribute. The central fact of open source is that maintaining control over source code relies on the existence and efficacy of intellectual property (‘IP’) laws, particularly copyright law. Copyright law is the primary statutory tool that achieves the end of openness, although implemented through private law arrangements at varying points within the software supply chain. This dependent relationship is itself a cause of concern for some philosophically in favour of ‘open’, with some predicting (or hoping) that the free software movement will bring about the end of copyright as a means for protecting software

    Antisemitism in North America

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    In Antisemitism in North America, leading scholars offer a wide variety of perspectives on why the Jews in North America have sometimes faced considerable bigotry but have, in general, found a home far more hospitable than the ones they left behind in Europe. ; Readership: Those who are interested in a scholarly understanding of prejudice antisemitism, Jewish studies, hate studies, religious studies, cultural studies, Holocaust and genocide studies, social psychology and social sciences

    MINDING THE GOD GAP IN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: HOW THE MEDIA FAILED TO COVER FAITH IN 2012 AND 2016

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    Recent coverage of faith in the American political discourse has yielded a dominant image of American religion as increasingly polarized and defined by a few strident voices. In particular, the coverage of American political discourse in presidential campaigns fails to capture the diversity and depth of faith that pervades American life as well as misses an opportunity to elevate public debate. To analyze the extent to which presidential campaign news captures the varied expressions of faith represented in the United States, this study examines the coverage of candidate faith and religion as an issue in the two recent presidential elections of 2012 and 2016. Faith as expressed by the four final candidates in these elections differs in meaningful ways. Using content analysis of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, this study examines how the campaigns present candidates’ religious identities, how the candidates themselves portray issues of faith, and how religion emerges as an issue in campaign coverage. In addition, the study identifies and analyzes key frames used in news coverage of candidate faith in U.S. campaigns The analysis shows that political party plays a significant role in what little coverage a candidate’s faith receives. For Republicans, because candidate faith plays a more central role throughout the campaign and especially during the early primaries, the coverage reports extensively on candidates’ use of their religious identities to appeal to religious voters. In the coverage of Democrats, the discussion of religion more commonly emerges in relation to a news item, such as an approach to a contentious policy, that has a religious dimension. A common reality reflected in the coverage of both parties is that a candidate’s long-term authentic religious devotion does not translate into strong campaign strategy regardless of the party of the devout candidate. Overall, analysis of the coverage of faith in 2012 and 2016 reinforces the idea that religious expression and practice differ significantly along political party lines. By recasting campaign coverage to reflect more thoroughly on issues of faith, the media could improve voters’ understanding of religious pluralism as a founding American ideal and help raise levels of trust and interest across both party and religious lines. Deepened appreciation of religious pluralism could help revitalize the public forum to support competition among different ideas, value productive compromise, and reduce the determination of any single group to dominate

    A critical examination of theorising in the study of the behavioural and social aspects of HIV and AIDS in South Africa

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    Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2022.Despite its widespread influence on the social and health sciences, Psychology is marked by debates surrounding its relevance, usefulness and status as a scientific discipline. While various corrective measures have been proposed, most notably the application of more rigorous methodological and empirical practices, the value of paying closer attention to theorising and the meta-theoretical structure of psychological science are often overlooked. When theory, research and practice exist in a synergistic relationship, theory can serve various generative functions. However, theorising that occurs in isolation from research and practice, and theory use which is unreflective and uncritical, produces adverse consequences which may ultimately lead to the stagnation of a scientific discipline. The lack of explicit and consistent theory use has been found to be a common problem in the social sciences, including in Social and Health Psychology. Since the outbreak of HIV in 1981, psychological theories have played an important role in the social and behavioural study of the disease. While great strides have been made in developing a robust and practically useful social and behavioural study of HIV and AIDS, the disease still poses unique and challenging questions to social scientists. Moreover, there is frustration with the limited success of HIV prevention programmes. Given the insufficient attention to theorising, this study explores the conceptual development of the socio-behavioural study of HIV and the paradigms that have played a role in how social scientists understand HIV and AIDS in South Africa. It was guided by three aims: a.) To describe the historical development of research focus areas in the socio-behavioural study of HIV and AIDS; b.) To identify and describe the use and visibility of theory in the academic literature; c.) To conduct a meta-theoretical analysis of the most prominent paradigms in the literature. Critical Realism was used as the study’s theoretical point of departure. The study comprised four phases. The first phase entailed the systematic search for peer-reviewed articles that pertained to the social and behavioural study of HIV in South Africa from 1982 to 2020. Phase two involved the thematic analysis of research themes. Phase three entailed the analysis of theory visibility, the extent to which theory testing and building occurred, and the identification of theories and paradigms in the literature. Phase four involved the meta-theoretical analysis of the three most prominent paradigms in the literature: Socio-Behaviourism, Critical Theory and the Socio-Ecological and Systems paradigm. A total of 3848 relevant papers were identified and thematically analysed to gain a contextual and historical understanding of the trends in research themes over time. Research on HIV prevention was the most common; however, research on living with HIV and testing and treatment started to increase in visibility from the late 2000s. A total of 1899 papers (49.9%) demonstrated the explicit or implicit use of theory. Theory visibility remained relatively stable over time. Articles about HIV testing and treatment demonstrated particularly low theory visibility. Theory building, and in particular theory testing, were found to be low. Articles which demonstrated the explicit use and direct naming of theories tended to make greater theoretical contributions. The misapplication of theory was evident, including the vague naming, oversimplified use of theories, and the meta-theoretically unreflective use of theoretical concepts. The study demonstrates the competition of opposing ideas and perspectives in the socio-behavioural study of HIV. The field developed from being primarily a psychological (specifically, Socio-Behavioural) research programme to increasingly becoming more socio-ecological and critical. Critical Theory and the Socio-Ecological and Systems paradigm became more prominent in the literature from the early 2000s, eventually overtaking Socio-Behaviourism by the late 2010s. The meta-theoretical analysis of Socio-Behaviourism, Critical Theory and the Socio-Ecological and Systems paradigm yielded important insights for the study of HIV and social and health psychology in general. Most notably, the analysis revealed important shortcomings in each paradigm and the degenerative consequences of meta-theoretically unreflective theory use. Several recommendations for research and practice are made, most notably that theories should be referred to explicitly and should be used in a way that corresponds with what they truly propose and in line with the proposed research topic, question and methodology. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to engage with theories sceptically and expand their knowledge of the theories that might be appropriate to their disciplines.PsychologyPhD (Psychology)Unrestricte

    Proceedings of the 11th Toulon-Verona International Conference on Quality in Services

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    The Toulon-Verona Conference was founded in 1998 by prof. Claudio Baccarani of the University of Verona, Italy, and prof. Michel Weill of the University of Toulon, France. It has been organized each year in a different place in Europe in cooperation with a host university (Toulon 1998, Verona 1999, Derby 2000, Mons 2001, Lisbon 2002, Oviedo 2003, Toulon 2004, Palermo 2005, Paisley 2006, Thessaloniki 2007, Florence, 2008). Originally focusing on higher education institutions, the research themes have over the years been extended to the health sector, local government, tourism, logistics, banking services. Around a hundred delegates from about twenty different countries participate each year and nearly one thousand research papers have been published over the last ten years, making of the conference one of the major events in the field of quality in services

    Blockchain-based Trust and Reputation Management for Securing IoT

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    The Internet of Things (IoT) brings connectivity to a large number of heterogeneous devices, many of which may not be trustworthy. Classical authorisation schemes can protect the network from adversaries. However, these schemes could not ascertain in situ reliability and trustworthiness of authorised nodes, as these schemes do not monitor nodes’ behaviour over the operational period. IoT nodes can be compromised post-authentication, which could impede the resiliency of the network. Trust and Reputation Managements (TRM) have the potential to overcome these issues. However, conventional centralised TRM have poor transparency and suffer from sin gle point of failures. In recent years, blockchains show promise in addressing these issues, due to the salient features, such as decentralisation, auditability and transparency. This thesis presents decentralised TRM frameworks to address specific trust issues and challenges in three core IoT functionalities. First, a TRM framework for IoT access control is proposed to address issues in conventional authorisation schemes, in which static predefined access policies are continuously enforced. The enforcements of static access policies assume that the access requestors always exhibit benign behaviour. However, in practice some requestors may actually be malicious and attempt to deceive the access policies, which raises an urgency in building an adaptive access control. In this framework, the nodes’ behaviour are progressively evaluated based on their adherence to the access control policies, and quantified into trust and reputation scores, which are then incorporated in the access control to achieve dynamic access control policies. The framework is implemented on a public Ethereum test-network interconnected with a private lab-scale network of Raspberry Pi computers. The experimental results show that the framework achieves consistent processing latencies and is feasible for implementing effective access control in decentralised IoT networks. Second, a TRM framework for blockchain-based Collaborative Intrusion Detection Systems (CIDS) is presented with an emphasis on the importance of building end-to-end trust between CIDS nodes. In a CIDS, each node contributes detection rules aiming to build collective knowledge of new attacks. Here, the TRM framework assigns trust scores to each contribution from various nodes, using which the trust- worthiness of each node is determined. These scores help protect the CIDS network from invalid detection rules, which may degrade the accuracy of attack detection. A proof-of-concept implementation of the framework is developed on a private labscale Ethereum network. The experimental results show that the solution is feasible and performs within the expected benchmarks of the Ethereum platform. Third, a TRM framework for decentralised resource sharing in 6G-enabled IoT networks is proposed, aiming to remove the inherent risks of sharing scarce resources, especially when most nodes in the network are unknown or untrusted. The proposed TRM framework helps manage the matching of resource supply and demand; and evaluates the trustworthiness of each node after the completion of the resource sharing task. The experimental results on a lab-scale proof-of-concept implementation demonstrate the feasibility of the framework as it only incurs insignificant overheads with regards to gas consumption and overall latency
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