6,339 research outputs found

    The Metaverse: Survey, Trends, Novel Pipeline Ecosystem & Future Directions

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    The Metaverse offers a second world beyond reality, where boundaries are non-existent, and possibilities are endless through engagement and immersive experiences using the virtual reality (VR) technology. Many disciplines can benefit from the advancement of the Metaverse when accurately developed, including the fields of technology, gaming, education, art, and culture. Nevertheless, developing the Metaverse environment to its full potential is an ambiguous task that needs proper guidance and directions. Existing surveys on the Metaverse focus only on a specific aspect and discipline of the Metaverse and lack a holistic view of the entire process. To this end, a more holistic, multi-disciplinary, in-depth, and academic and industry-oriented review is required to provide a thorough study of the Metaverse development pipeline. To address these issues, we present in this survey a novel multi-layered pipeline ecosystem composed of (1) the Metaverse computing, networking, communications and hardware infrastructure, (2) environment digitization, and (3) user interactions. For every layer, we discuss the components that detail the steps of its development. Also, for each of these components, we examine the impact of a set of enabling technologies and empowering domains (e.g., Artificial Intelligence, Security & Privacy, Blockchain, Business, Ethics, and Social) on its advancement. In addition, we explain the importance of these technologies to support decentralization, interoperability, user experiences, interactions, and monetization. Our presented study highlights the existing challenges for each component, followed by research directions and potential solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this survey is the most comprehensive and allows users, scholars, and entrepreneurs to get an in-depth understanding of the Metaverse ecosystem to find their opportunities and potentials for contribution

    Machine Learning Research Trends in Africa: A 30 Years Overview with Bibliometric Analysis Review

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    In this paper, a critical bibliometric analysis study is conducted, coupled with an extensive literature survey on recent developments and associated applications in machine learning research with a perspective on Africa. The presented bibliometric analysis study consists of 2761 machine learning-related documents, of which 98% were articles with at least 482 citations published in 903 journals during the past 30 years. Furthermore, the collated documents were retrieved from the Science Citation Index EXPANDED, comprising research publications from 54 African countries between 1993 and 2021. The bibliometric study shows the visualization of the current landscape and future trends in machine learning research and its application to facilitate future collaborative research and knowledge exchange among authors from different research institutions scattered across the African continent

    Investigating and mitigating the role of neutralisation techniques on information security policies violation in healthcare organisations

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    Healthcare organisations today rely heavily on Electronic Medical Records systems (EMRs), which have become highly crucial IT assets that require significant security efforts to safeguard patients’ information. Individuals who have legitimate access to an organisation’s assets to perform their day-to-day duties but intentionally or unintentionally violate information security policies can jeopardise their organisation’s information security efforts and cause significant legal and financial losses. In the information security (InfoSec) literature, several studies emphasised the necessity to understand why employees behave in ways that contradict information security requirements but have offered widely different solutions. In an effort to respond to this situation, this thesis addressed the gap in the information security academic research by providing a deep understanding of the problem of medical practitioners’ behavioural justifications to violate information security policies and then determining proper solutions to reduce this undesirable behaviour. Neutralisation theory was used as the theoretical basis for the research. This thesis adopted a mixed-method research approach that comprises four consecutive phases, and each phase represents a research study that was conducted in light of the results from the preceding phase. The first phase of the thesis started by investigating the relationship between medical practitioners’ neutralisation techniques and their intention to violate information security policies that protect a patient’s privacy. A quantitative study was conducted to extend the work of Siponen and Vance [1] through a study of the Saudi Arabia healthcare industry. The data was collected via an online questionnaire from 66 Medical Interns (MIs) working in four academic hospitals. The study found that six neutralisation techniques—(1) appeal to higher loyalties, (2) defence of necessity, (3) the metaphor of ledger, (4) denial of responsibility, (5) denial of injury, and (6) condemnation of condemners—significantly contribute to the justifications of the MIs in hypothetically violating information security policies. The second phase of this research used a series of semi-structured interviews with IT security professionals in one of the largest academic hospitals in Saudi Arabia to explore the environmental factors that motivated the medical practitioners to evoke various neutralisation techniques. The results revealed that social, organisational, and emotional factors all stimulated the behavioural justifications to breach information security policies. During these interviews, it became clear that the IT department needed to ensure that security policies fit the daily tasks of the medical practitioners by providing alternative solutions to ensure the effectiveness of those policies. Based on these interviews, the objective of the following two phases was to improve the effectiveness of InfoSec policies against the use of behavioural justification by engaging the end users in the modification of existing policies via a collaborative writing process. Those two phases were conducted in the UK and Saudi Arabia to determine whether the collaborative writing process could produce a more effective security policy that balanced the security requirements with daily business needs, thus leading to a reduction in the use of neutralisation techniques to violate security policies. The overall result confirmed that the involvement of the end users via a collaborative writing process positively improved the effectiveness of the security policy to mitigate the individual behavioural justifications, showing that the process is a promising one to enhance security compliance

    Effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on the genetic diversity of the alpine butterfly Parnassius smintheus

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    Genetic diversity represents a population’s evolutionary potential, as well as its demographic and evolutionary history. Advances in DNA sequencing have allowed the development of new and potentially powerful methods to quantify this diversity. However, when using these methods best practices for sampling populations and analyzing data are still being developed. Furthermore, while effects of the landscape on spatial patterns of genetic variation have received considerable attention, we have a poorer understanding of how genetic diversity changes as a result of temporal variation in environmental and demographic variables. Here, I take advantage of advances in DNA sequencing to investigate genetic diversity at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across space and time in a model system of the butterfly, Parnassius smintheus. I used double digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing to genotype SNPs in P. smintheus from populations in Alberta, Canada. To develop recommendations for analyzing data, I tested the effect of varying the maximum amount of missing data (and therefore the number of SNPs) on common population genetic analyses. Most analyses were robust to varying amounts of missing data, except for population assignment tests where larger datasets (with more missing data) revealed higher-resolution population structure. I also examined the effect of sample size on the same set of analyses, finding that some (e.g., estimation of genetic differentiation) required as few as five individuals per population, while others (e.g., population assignment) required at least 15. I used the SNP dataset to investigate factors shaping patterns of genetic diversity at different spatial scales and across time. At a larger spatial scale but a single time point, both weather (snow depth and mean minimum temperatures) and land cover (the distance between meadow patches) predicted genetic diversity and differentiation. At a smaller spatial but longer temporal scale, I used a smaller SNP dataset to show that genetic diversity is lost over repeated demographic bottlenecks driven by winter weather, and subsequently recovered through gene flow. My work contributes to understanding how genetic diversity is shaped in natural populations, and points to the importance of both land cover and weather (and specifically, variability in weather) to this process

    The form and function of avian rictal bristles

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    Although mechanoreception is present throughout the animal kingdom, it is still relatively under-studied and poorly understood, especially in nocturnal birds. A particular type of facial feather, the rictal bristles, are thought to carry out a similar tactile function to mammalian whiskers, of which they superficially resemble. If they do, such a function could enhance foraging behaviour and facilitate obstacle avoidance, especially in dark, complex habitats. However, as rictal bristles are the least described of any feather, little is known about them. Therefore, this thesis characterises rictal bristle form and function by describing: i) bristle morphology and follicle anatomy, ii) the development of rictal bristles, and iii) the associated mechanosensory brain areas. It will also explore: iv) rictal bristle evolution and v) function. Results in this thesis demonstrated that rictal bristle morphology and the presence of mechanoreceptors around the follicle varied between species. Specifically, diurnal species did not have mechanoreceptors around their bristle follicles and had shorter bristles. Associated mechanosensory brain areas also varied between species, but there was no clear association between the neuroanatomy, rictal bristle morphology or foraging traits. Rictal bristles were absent in two species of altricial hatchlings, and only emerged after their eyes opened. Stimulation of the rictal region in these chicks led to behavioural feeding responses, especially coinciding with when chicks started to feed independently. Rictal bristle evolution underwent multiple events of disappearance and gain during avian evolution, and therefore, the presence and morphology of the rictal bristles also varied between orders, families and genera. Short rictal bristles with barbs at the base were likely to be present in the common ancestor of the phylogeny (108 mya). Rictal bristle presence and length were associated with nocturnality and foraging methods, and diet is also likely to be associated with rictal bristle length. Consequently, this thesis suggests that, in adult birds, rictal bristles are likely to act as facial tactile sensors in species that forage in low-light conditions in complex habitats. Rictal bristles are may, therefore, play a role in collision avoidance, foraging and eye protection. Species foraging in the daytime might have rictal bristles with a reduced tactile function. However, identifying rictal bristle function is challenging and demands further investigation. This thesis provides the first comparative description of avian rictal bristle form and function, and is an important foundation for further investigation of the sense of touch in birds

    Swimming with microbes: an individual-based modelling approach to ocean microbial ecology across scales

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    Microbial ecosystems, both on land and in the oceans, are the staging ground for the biogeochemical activity that sustains habitable conditions on Earth. Ocean microbes are of particular importance; the primary producers that drive biogeochemical ocean processes are almost entirely microbial, and are collectively responsible for about half of global net primary production. These ecosystems are extraordinarily complex, by virtue of being driven by very large numbers of living individuals, constantly interacting with each other and their highly dynamic physical environment. Much uncertainty remains about how these dynamics, from micro- to macro-scales, ultimately impact key ecosystem properties such as spatial dynamics and growth rates of populations and communities. In this project I use individual-based modelling (IBM) across a range of spatial and temporal scales, leveraging large, high-resolution physical and biological datasets along with advancements in modelling tools to shed light on spatial and temporal dynamics of microbial populations in inherently fluctuating environments. In doing so I clarify and quantify hitherto unresolved ecological questions relating to interactions between microbes and turbulence, inaccuracies in conventional modelling approaches, and the balance of competition and coexistence between microbes in the marine environment. In the Introductory Chapter, I review our current understanding of microbial ecology in the oceans, and illustrate how complex ecological behaviour emerges from the constant interaction of microbial individuals with each other and with their environment. In the Second Chapter, I begin at the smallest scales directly relevant to ocean microbes, investigating the impact of turbulence on microbial spatial dynamics and patchiness. I adopt an existing mathematical framework for modelling microbes capable of gyrotactic locomotion, with an IBM to reproduce their motion within a fully-resolved 3D simulation of convective turbulence. This work clarifies and extends to more realistic flow regimes the existing theory connecting micro-scale microbe patchiness to a coupling of turbulence and individual motility. Interpreting my results in the context of varying turbulent conditions from the surface to the bottom of the mixed layer, I propose that this turbulence-driven patchiness is ephemeral, non-ubiquitous, and depth-dependent. In the Third Chapter, I transition to larger spatial and temporal scales, and develop an IBM on top of the NEMO-MEDUSA oceanographic model and the global Biotraits database. I use this model to quantify, for the first time, to what degree fluctuating environmental conditions can influence estimates of a microbe's growth rate, due to nonlinear averaging effects similar to the phenomenon known as Jensen's Inequality. In a microbial growth context, such effects predict that growth rate estimates based on mean environmental conditions will differ from realised growth rates in a dynamic environment. I substantiate this prediction by simulating populations of marine phytoplankton following ocean currents, and demonstrating that realised growth differs substantially from mean-environment growth estimates for a clear majority of these simulated populations. I quantify the relative contributions of temperature and nutrient fluctuations to this microbial ``growth gap'' -- the magnitude of the difference between realised and mean-environment growth rates, and discuss the implications of my findings under a warming climate. In the Fourth Chapter, I apply my NEMO-MEDUSA-Biotraits IBM to investigate the ‘Paradox of the Plankton’ -- the puzzling absence of competitive exclusion among ocean microbes. I simulate populations of distinct species with thermal histories which significantly overlap in both space and time within the IBM, which I treat as competitors. I then examine whether the distinct thermal adaptations of these competitors can cause competitive advantage to shift back and forth over time as environmental conditions fluctuate, thus preventing any individual species from permanently outcompeting others. In the Final Chapter, I link my findings to each other and to the bigger picture of microbial ocean ecology, emphasizing how a maturing body of mathematical ecological theory, increasingly large and detailed datasets, and modern computational tools, allow us to shed light on long-standing questions by closely examining interactions between individuals and a dynamic environment.Open Acces

    Listening to Rivers: Using sound to monitor rivers

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    From a babbling brook to a thunderous torrent, a rivers' soundscape can be described by many onomatopoeic words. Using sound produced sub-aerially by a river to calculate its stage is an entirely novel idea, designed to be used in an environment that is seldom monitored, headwater catchments. In these environments it is difficult to use traditional methods of automatic stage gauging, such as pressure transducers and ultrasonic depth monitors. I propose a cost-effective, simple to install sound monitor which can be simply placed beside a river that is making a noise. I develop a method of how to take the tempest that is river sound and filter it to a usable component using data collected from around the North East of England during Storm Ciara and Dennis, 2020. Understanding where river sound is generated from and the mechanisms behind it are key to developing sound monitoring which is why I use an experiment at a white water course to investigate the link between sound and river topography. Using an artificial channel and obstacles I investigate the link between obstacle height and configuration on the production of sound. To use river sound as a proxy for river stage, there has to be a process of how to setup and calibrate sound. I present a method of how one may go about setting up a sound monitor and the usage it may have in water resource management. Finally, I apply the method of sound filtering, river placement, and calibration at a catchment scale to determine its validity in river monitoring. Although novel, using sound to monitor a rivers' stage is practical and deployable
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