Finding a needle in a haystack: toward a psychologically informed method for aviation security screening

Current aviation security systems identify behavioral indicators of deception to assess risks to flights, but they lack a strong psychological basis or empirical validation. We present a new method that tests the veracity of passenger accounts. In an in vivo double-blind randomized-control trial conducted in international airports, security agents detected 66% of deceptive passengers using the veracity test method compared with less than 5% using behavioral indicator recognition. As well as revealing advantages of veracity testing over behavioral indicator identification, the study provides the highest levels to date of deception detection in a realistic setting where the known base rate of deceptive individuals is low

Big data analytics:Computational intelligence techniques and application areas

Big Data has significant impact in developing functional smart cities and supporting modern societies. In this paper, we investigate the importance of Big Data in modern life and economy, and discuss challenges arising from Big Data utilization. Different computational intelligence techniques have been considered as tools for Big Data analytics. We also explore the powerful combination of Big Data and Computational Intelligence (CI) and identify a number of areas, where novel applications in real world smart city problems can be developed by utilizing these powerful tools and techniques. We present a case study for intelligent transportation in the context of a smart city, and a novel data modelling methodology based on a biologically inspired universal generative modelling approach called Hierarchical Spatial-Temporal State Machine (HSTSM). We further discuss various implications of policy, protection, valuation and commercialization related to Big Data, its applications and deployment

Community structure detection in the evolution of the United States airport network

This is the post-print version of the Article. Copyright © 2013 World Scientific PublishingThis paper investigates community structure in the US Airport Network as it evolved from 1990 to 2010 by looking at six bi-monthly intervals in 1990, 2000 and 2010, using data obtained from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the US Department of Transport. The data contained monthly records of origin-destination pairs of domestic airports and the number of passengers carried. The topological properties and the volume of people traveling are both studied in detail, revealing high heterogeneity in space and time. A recently developed community structure detection method, accounting for the spatial nature of these networks, is applied and reveals a picture of the communities within. The patterns of communities plotted for each bi-monthly interval reveal some interesting seasonal variations of passenger flows and airport clusters that do not occupy a single US region. The long-term evolution of the network between those years is explored and found to have consistently improved its stability. The more recent structure of the network (2010) is compared with migration patterns among the four US macro-regions (West, Midwest, Northeast and South) in order to identify possible relationships and the results highlight a clear overlap between US domestic air travel and migration

Airport Passenger Arrival Process: Estimation of Earliness Arrival Functions

Abstract Airport terminals are complex nodes where passengers are processed under limited capacity conditions. Congestion problems and delays are likely to occur, with negative impacts on customer satisfaction. To keep high quality levels, the knowledge of passengers' arrival patterns is a key factor. In this study, a methodology based on the use of Bar Coded Boarding Pass (BCBP) technologies has been proposed to estimate arrival rate functions for different types of passengers (Low Cost and Full Carrier passengers) and time of the day. The results obtained for a test case have been analysed and discussed

Formulating a Strategy for Securing High-Speed Rail in the United States, Research Report 12-03

This report presents an analysis of information relating to attacks, attempted attacks, and plots against high-speed rail (HSR) systems. It draws upon empirical data from MTI’s Database of Terrorist and Serious Criminal Attacks Against Public Surface Transportation and from reviews of selected HSR systems, including onsite observations. The report also examines the history of safety accidents and other HSR incidents that resulted in fatalities, injuries, or extensive asset damage to examine the inherent vulnerabilities (and strengths) of HSR systems and how these might affect the consequences of terrorist attacks. The study is divided into three parts: (1) an examination of security principles and measures; (2) an empirical examination of 33 attacks against HSR targets and a comparison of attacks against HSR targets with those against non-HSR targets; and (3) an examination of 73 safety incidents on 12 HRS systems. The purpose of this study is to develop an overall strategy for HSR security and to identify measures that could be applied to HSR systems currently under development in the United States. It is hoped that the report will provide useful guidance to both governmental authorities and transportation operators of current and future HSR systems

Fire Safety Analysis of a Railway Compartment using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Trains are considered to be the safest on-land transportation means for both passengers and cargo. Train accidents have been mainly disastrous, especially in case of fire, where the consequences are extensive loss of life and goods. The fire would generate smoke and heat which would spread quickly inside the railway compartments. Both heat and smoke are the primary reasons of casualties in a train. This study has been carried out to perform numerical analysis of fire characteristics in a railway compartment using commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics code ANSYS. Non-premixed combustion model has been used to simulate a fire scenario within a railway compartment, while Shear Stress Transport k-ω turbulence model has been used to accurately predict the hot air turbulence parameters within the compartment. The walls of the compartment have been modelled as no-slip stationary adiabatic walls, as is observed in real life conditions. Carbon dioxide concentration (CO2), temperature distribution and air flow velocity within the railway compartment has been monitored. It has been observed that the smoke above the fire source flows to both sides of the compartment. The highest temperature zone is located downstream the fire source, and gradually decreases with the increase in the distance from the fire source. It can be seen that CFD can be used as an effective tool in order to analyse the evolution of fire in railway compartments with reasonable accuracy. The paper also briefly discusses the topical reliability issues

Exploring Raw Safety Aspects in Aviation Industry

Aviation is the growing industry. Safety in the aviation industry is most important. Safety is affected by many factors such as environmental, economical, technical, and operational and many challenges are in the way of aviation safety to overcome from these hurdles .So this paper tried to explore the different safety aspects for the aviation industry. From the literature different research streams and research issues are discussed which affects the safety of the aviation industry. Keywords: Aviation Safety, Challenges, Safety Aspects, Environmental, Economical, Technica

Maritime tourism and terrorism: Customer perceptions of the potential terrorist threat to cruise shipping

Maritime terrorism is a neglected area of research in tourism, particularly the use of scenario planning to understand potential threats to the cruise industry. Since the events of 9/11, terrorism, and the threat of terrorism, has become a major concern within the tourism industry. This article analyses tourist perception of perceived terrorist threats given that many ships are American owned. Using the scenario analysis presented by Greenberg, Chalk, Willis, Khilko, and Ortiz, this study suggests that an attack on a cruise ship is a distinct possibility. Indeed, 44% of respondents questioned perceived the possibility of a terrorist attack on a cruise ship to be likely despite the fact that safety and security is seen by the industry as a 'hallmark' of cruising. Differences in attitude among potential passengers revealed a high level of confidence in the cruise ship companies. This finding is particularly marked among more experienced cruise ship passengers. However, this did not necessarily preclude the possibility of security measures being improved. All passengers appeared generally resigned to the fact that risk is associated with travel in the twenty-first century and welcomed any efforts by cruise shipping companies to improve safety and security. © 2012 © 2012 Taylor & Francis

Street slang and schizophrenia

We report the case of a 26 year old streetwise young postman who presented with a six month history of reduced occupational and social function, low mood, and lack of motivation. He complained of feeling less sociable and less interested in his friends and of being clumsy and finding it harder to think. He was otherwise fit and healthy, with no physical abnormalities, neurological signs, or objective cognitive impairments. There was no history of a recent stressor that might have precipitated his symptoms. He was referred to a specialist service for patients in the prodromal phase of psychotic illness for further assessment after he had seen his general practitioner and the local community mental health team. The differential diagnosis at this stage was depression, the prodrome of schizophrenia, or no formal clinical disorder. His premorbid occupational and social function had been good. There was no history of abnormal . social, language, and motor development and he left school with two A levels. After three years of service at the post office he had been promoted to a supervisory role. He had a good relationship with his family and had six or so good friends. There has been a number of previous heterosexual relationships, although none in the past year. Aside from smoking cannabis on two occasions when he was 19, there was no history of illicit substance use. Detailed and repeated assessment of his mental state found a normal affect, no delusions, hallucinations, or catatonia, and no cognitive dysfunction. His speech, however, was peppered with what seemed (to his middle class and older psychiatrist) to be an unusual use of words, although he said they were street slang (table).Go It was thus unclear whether he was displaying subtle signs of formal thought disorder (manifest as disorganised speech, including the use of unusual words or phrases, and neologisms) or using a "street" argot. This was a crucial diagnostic distinction as thought disorder is a feature of psychotic illnesses and can indicate a diagnosis of schizophrenia. We sought to verify his explanations using an online dictionary of slang (urbandictionary.com). To our surprise, many of the words he used were listed and the definitions accorded with those he gave (see table). We further investigated whether his speech showed evidence of thought disorder by examining recordings of his speech as he described a series of ambiguous pictures from the thematic apperception test, a procedure that elicits thought disordered speech. His speech was transcribed and rated with the thought and language index, a standardised scale for assessing thought disorder. Slang used in a linguistically appropriate way is not scored as abnormal on this scale. His score was 5.25, primarily reflecting a mild loosening of associations. For example, he described a picture of a boat on a lake thus: "There’s a boat and a tree. There seems to be a reflection. There are no beds, and I wonder why there are no beds. There’s a breeze going through the branches of the tree." His score was outside the normal range (mean for normal controls 0.88, SD 1.15) and indicates subtle thought disorder, equivalent to that evident in remitted patients with schizophrenia (mean in remitted patients 3.89, SD 2.56) but lower than that in patients with formal thought disorder (mean 27.4, SD 8.3). Over the following year his social and occupational functioning deteriorated further, and he developed frank formal thought disorder as well as grandiose and persecutory delusions to the extent that he met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia. His speech was assessed as before, and the thought and language index score had increased to 11.75. This mainly reflected abnormalities on items comprising "positive" thought disorder, particularly the use of neologisms such as "chronocolising" and non-sequiturs. To our knowledge this is the first case report to describe difficulties in distinguishing "street" argots from formal thought disorder. It is perhaps not surprising that slang can complicate the assessment of disorganised speech as psychotic illnesses usually develop in young adults, whereas the assessing clinician is often from an older generation (and different sociocultural background) less familiar with contemporary urban slang. Online resources offer a means of distinguishing street argot from neologisms or a peculiar use of words, and linguistic rating scales may be a useful adjunct to clinical assessment when thought disorder is subtle. Differentiating thought disorder from slang can be especially difficult in the context of "prodromal" signs of psychosis, when speech abnormalities, if present, are usually subtle. Nevertheless, accurate speech assessment is important as subtle thought disorder can, as in this case, predate the subsequent onset of schizophrenia, and early detection and treatment of psychosis might be associated with a better long term clinical outcome