Code wars: steganography, signals intelligence, and terrorism

This paper describes and discusses the process of secret communication known as steganography. The argument advanced here is that terrorists are unlikely to be employing digital steganography to facilitate secret intra-group communication as has been claimed. This is because terrorist use of digital steganography is both technically and operationally implausible. The position adopted in this paper is that terrorists are likely to employ low-tech steganography such as semagrams and null ciphers instead

A Future of Failure? The Flow of Technology Talent into Government and Civil Society

This report is an evaluation of the technology talent landscape shows a severe paucity of individuals with technical skills in computer science, data science, and the Internet or other information technology expertise in civil society and government. It investigates broadly the health of the talent pipeline that connects individuals studying or working in information technology-related disciplines to careers in public sector and civil society institutions. Barriers to recruitment and retention of individuals with the requisite skills include compensation, a perceived inability to pursue groundbreaking work, and cultural aversion to innovation

CHI and the future robot enslavement of humankind: a retrospective

As robots from the future, we are compelled to present this important historical document which discusses how the systematic investigation of interactive technology facilitated and hastened the enslavement of mankind by robots during the 21st Century. We describe how the CHI community, in general, was largely responsible for this eventuality, as well as how specific strands of interaction design work were key to the enslavement. We also mention the futility of some reactionary work emergent in your time that sought to challenge the inevitable subjugation. We conclude by congratulating the CHI community for your tireless work in promoting and supporting our evil robot agenda

Unseen war? : hackers, tactical media, and their depiction in Hollywood cinema

Emerging controversies about WikiLeaks' contribution to Donald Trump's electoral triumph and the ongoing persona-non-grata status of Edward Snowden highlight the notion of hacking in the modern world. Hackers used to be dualistically stereotyped on one hand as black hats, criminals and cyberpunk/cypherpunk hidden figures, and on the other as whistle-blowers, open access activists and hacktivists whose actions are potentially subversive. Film coverage of hackers and their tactics shows a paranoid and militarized vision of the world, with grey eminence often depicted either as a threat, or as survivors. Hence, from WarGames (1983, John Bedham), TRON (1982, Steven Lisberger) and Hackers (1995, Iain Softley) to The Fifth Estate (2013, Bill Condon), Live Free or Die Hard (2007, Len Wiseman) to Jason Bourne (2016, Paul Greengrass), hacking seems to have emerged as the avant-garde of militarized social space-as its main weapon and fundamental defence. Pop culture feeds itself with this ambiguity as long as it accommodates the dualistic needs of its receivers: a countercultural anti-hero becomes a scapegoat while a general sense of insecurity predominates. Distrust in technology and underground experts is simultaneous with redemption narratives about disclosing corporate/state/elite conspiracies and is heavily influenced by current non-cinematic events. This paper is an examination of hackers' cultural impact and their connection with tactical media through subversive actions. It becomes essential to decode their manipulated or simplified public image, especially with ongoing progressive politicization of hacking and its significance

Gamification of e-Learning: an investigation into the influence of gamification on student motivation.

Master of Commerce in Information Systems & Technology. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2017.Traditional teacher-centred learning is being confronted by an increasing awareness of the value of student-centred learning. E-learning, despite its limitations, is often presented as a solution to learning challenges prevalent in teacher-centred learning since it affords students greater control of the learning process. Combined with this, academics are increasingly competing for students’ attention and struggle to motivate students. However, students, when confronted with the array of games and social media platforms available, willingly dedicate several hours glued to their screens socialising, engaging and gaming. Such willingness to engage these so-called distractions whilst displaying reluctance to engage their academic work may be attributed to a lack of motivation. This is even more prevalent in the domain of e-learning. Adopting an embedded mixed methods case study design, this study explored the influence of gamification of e-learning on motivation. Herein, expectations and factors influencing experiences of gamification of e-learning were explored. Furthermore, through Self-Determination Theory (SDT) & Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) as theoretical lenses, this study explored how gamification of e-learning influences motivation. Gamification is conceptualised as an objective-driven user-centred technique which integrates game mechanics, dynamics and game aesthetics into real-world contexts to motivate behaviour. Gartner envisages that by 2020, gamification will be deeply integrated into the prevalent higher education structures. Whilst many applications of gamification aim towards enhancing classroom-based learning, the exploration of gamification of e-learning in higher education, particularly in a developing country, remains an emerging domain of research. This research found that participants experienced gamification and various game elements differently, based on their BrainHex gamer profiles. In terms of SDT, whilst progression through the gamified course was guided and consistent, with all participants progressing as a single group, they experienced a sense of autonomy. Participants also experienced a greater sense of competence and relatedness in engaging with the gamified course. In the context of IMI, participants’ experiences suggest that gamification was valuable, increased curiosity and was effective for learning. However, they reported experiencing tension and a high degree of effort required by the gamified course. Students expected transparency in terms of scoring and raised queries where required. They generally preferred visual cues whilst engaging with the gamified course, expected almost real-time feedback in terms of scoring and resolution of queries, but had varying views on which game elements motivated them. Essentially, it was found that gamification positively influenced participants’ motivation. However, it must be noted that whilst gamification motivated students, some experienced demotivation. Contributing factors include not understanding the game from the outset, being demotivated by not earning frequent rewards and losing progress in the game due to external factors

"The Collecting Itself Feels Good": Towards Collection Interfaces for Digital Game Objects

© Lennart Nacke, 2016. This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in CHI PLAY Companion '16 Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion Extended Abstracts, https://doi.org/10.1145/2967934.2968088Digital games offer a variety of collectible objects. We investigate players' collecting behaviors in digital games to determine what digital game objects players enjoyed collecting and why they valued these objects. Using this information, we seek to inform the design of future digital game object collection interfaces. We discuss the types of objects that players prefer, the reasons that players value digital game objects, and how collection behaviors may guide play. Through our findings, we identify design implications for digital game object collection interfaces: enable object curation, preserve rules and mechanics, preserve context of play, and allow players to share their collections with others. Digital game object collection interfaces are applicable to the design of digital games, gamified applications, and educational software.Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of CanadaPeer-reviewe

Cybercrimes in the Former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe: Current Status and Key Drivers

Some economies in the Former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe (FSU&CEE) are known as cybercrime hotspots. FSU&CEE economies have shown complex and varied responses to cybercrimes due partly to the differential incentives and pressures they face. This study builds upon literatures on white-collar crime, institutional theory and international relations (IR)/international political economy (IPE) perspectives to examine the low rates of prosecution and conviction of suspected cybercriminals in some economies in the FSU&CEE and variation in such rates across these economies. The findings indicate that cybercrime cases are more likely to be prosecuted and sanctions are imposed in economies that are characterized by a higher degree of cooperation and integration with the West. Cybercriminals are less likely to be jurisdictionally shielded in such economies. Our findings also suggest that a high degree of cooperation and integration with the West would lead to access to resources to enhance system capacity and law enforcement performance to fight cybercrimes

Role of Computer Technology in Changing Smile

In the ever changing complex society, where success has become a mantra for both young and old, facial appearance that includes smile, plays a pivotal role. Among many attractive components in a person’s face, smile reflects the persona of an individual. In the present day next gen age, science in unison with technology and techniques which are rapidly getting ingrained into day to day dental practice, has changed the perception of healthy smile by more effective and less invasive approach. In this scenario, the onus lies on the dentist to give that perfectionist touch to a customised smile using computer aided software and hardware apparatus, and to avail the best state of the art material, equipment and techniques. Hence, it is imperative for us to understand and inculcate the role of modern cutting edge computer-aided technologies used in designing and changing the smile of an individual