Entropy in Image Analysis II

Image analysis is a fundamental task for any application where extracting information from images is required. The analysis requires highly sophisticated numerical and analytical methods, particularly for those applications in medicine, security, and other fields where the results of the processing consist of data of vital importance. This fact is evident from all the articles composing the Special Issue "Entropy in Image Analysis II", in which the authors used widely tested methods to verify their results. In the process of reading the present volume, the reader will appreciate the richness of their methods and applications, in particular for medical imaging and image security, and a remarkable cross-fertilization among the proposed research areas

Symmetry in Chaotic Systems and Circuits

Symmetry can play an important role in the field of nonlinear systems and especially in the design of nonlinear circuits that produce chaos. Therefore, this Special Issue, titled “Symmetry in Chaotic Systems and Circuits”, presents the latest scientific advances in nonlinear chaotic systems and circuits that introduce various kinds of symmetries. Applications of chaotic systems and circuits with symmetries, or with a deliberate lack of symmetry, are also presented in this Special Issue. The volume contains 14 published papers from authors around the world. This reflects the high impact of this Special Issue

Cyberterrorism: A postmodern view of networks of terror and how computer security experts and law enforcement officials fight them.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how cyberterrorists create networks in order to engage in malicious activities against the Internet and computers. The purpose of the study is also to understand how computer security labs (i.e., in universities) and various agencies (that is, law enforcement agencies such as police departments and the FBI) create joint networks in their fight against cyberterrorists. This idea of analyzing the social networks of two opposing sides rests on the premise that it takes networks to fight networks. The ultimate goal is to show that, because of the postmodern nature of the Internet, the fight between networks of cyberterrorists and networks of computer security experts (and law enforcement officials) is a postmodern fight. Two theories are used in this study: social network theory and game theory.This study employed qualitative methodology and data were collected via in-depth conversational (face-to-face) interviewing. Twenty-seven computer security experts and law enforcement officials were interviewed. Overall, this study found that cyberterrorists tend not to work alone. Rather, they team up with others through social networks. It was also found that it takes networks to fight networks. As such, it is necessary for experts and officials to combine efforts, through networking, in order to combat, let alone understand, cyberterrorist networks. Of equal relevance is the fact that law enforcement agents and computer security experts do not always engage in battle with cyberterrorists. They sometimes try to interact with them in order to obtain more information about their networks (and vice versa). Finally, four themes were identified from the participants' accounts: (1) postmodern state of chaos, (2) social engineering, (3) know thy enemy, and (4) the enemy of my enemy is my friend

Combining evolutionary algorithms and agent-based simulation for the development of urbanisation policies

Urban-planning authorities continually face the problem of optimising the allocation of green space over time in developing urban environments. To help in these decision-making processes, this thesis provides an empirical study of using evolutionary approaches to solve sequential decision making problems under uncertainty in stochastic environments. To achieve this goal, this work is underpinned by developing a theoretical framework based on the economic model of Alonso and the associated methodology for modelling spatial and temporal urban growth, in order to better understand the complexity inherent in this kind of system and to generate and improve relevant knowledge for the urban planning community. The model was hybridised with cellular automata and agent-based model and extended to encompass green space planning based on urban cost and satisfaction. Monte Carlo sampling techniques and the use of the urban model as a surrogate tool were the two main elements investigated and applied to overcome the noise and uncertainty derived from dealing with future trends and expectations. Once the evolutionary algorithms were equipped with these mechanisms, the problem under consideration was defined and characterised as a type of adaptive submodular. Afterwards, the performance of a non-adaptive evolutionary approach with a random search and a very smart greedy algorithm was compared and in which way the complexity that is linked with the configuration of the problem modifies the performance of both algorithms was analysed. Later on, the application of very distinct frameworks incorporating evolutionary algorithm approaches for this problem was explored: (i) an ‘offline’ approach, in which a candidate solution encodes a complete set of decisions, which is then evaluated by full simulation, and (ii) an ‘online’ approach which involves a sequential series of optimizations, each making only a single decision, and starting its simulations from the endpoint of the previous run

Privacyrecht is code. Over het gebruik van Privacy Enhancing Technologies

Omgevingsanalyse van onze samenleving toont aan dat door de toenemende informatisering privacyproblemen (identiteitsfraude, datalekken) zullen toenemen. Door gegevensontdekkende-, gegevensvolgende- en gegevenskoppelende technologieën erodeert de privacy van de burger in onze risico-toezichtmaatschappij ernstig. Het vertrouwen in het gebruik van ICT en het elektronisch zaken doen komt hierdoor sterk onder druk te staan.Er bestaat uitvoerige Europese wet- en regelgeving om onze privacy te beschermen. In dit boek is deze wetgeving geanalyseerd. De wetsartikelen die direct betrekking hebben op de verwerking van persoonsgegevens kunnen beschouwd worden als de juridische specificaties voor het ontwerp van informatiesystemen. De wetgeving verplicht tot een privacyrisico analyse voorafgaande aan het gebruik van informatiesystemen. Dit vindt nauwelijks plaats. In dit boek worden zeven privacy bedreigingsanalyses (o.a PIA) besproken. Met de privacyrisicoanalyse kan opdrachtgevers en ontwerpers van informatiesystemen de potentiële risico’s voor de privacy van de burger in kaart te brengen. Uit onderzoek is duidelijk geworden dat persoonsgegevens het best beschermd kunnen worden als bij de verwerking van de persoonsgegevens de identificeerde gegevens direct worden scheiden worden van andere gegevens. Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PET), die de juridische vereisten omzetten in technische specificaties, kunnen hiervoor zorgdragen. De inhoud, reikwijdte en succesvolle toepassingen van PET worden in dit boek uiteengezet.Aan de hand van de Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theorie van Rogers kunnen de positieve en negatieve factoren voor organisaties worden vastgesteld, die van invloed zijn op het invoeren van identity en access management, privacy bescherming en de adoptie van PET voor de bescherming van persoonsgegevens. Bovendien is gebleken dat de maturiteit van de organisatie bepalend is of de organisatie aandacht besteedt aan privacybescherming. Met de in dit boek toegelichte Return On Investment (ROI) formules kan de economische rechtvaardiging voor privacy beschermende investeringen worden onderbouwd. Het boek sluit af met een stappenplan om privacyveilige informatiesystemen in organisaties te implementeren en doet tien aanbevelingenLEI Universiteit LeidenEffective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

Virginia Commonwealth University Courses

Listing of courses for the 2015-2016 academic year

College of Arts and Sciences

Cornell University Courses of Study Vol. 92 2000/200

College of Arts and Sciences

Cornell University Courses of Study Vol. 94 2002/200