Responsibility and non-repudiation in resource-constrained Internet of Things scenarios

The proliferation and popularity of smart autonomous systems necessitates the development of methods and models for ensuring the effective identification of their owners and controllers. The aim of this paper is to critically discuss the responsibility of Things and their impact on human affairs. This starts with an in-depth analysis of IoT Characteristics such as Autonomy, Ubiquity and Pervasiveness. We argue that Things governed by a controller should have an identifiable relationship between the two parties and that authentication and non-repudiation are essential characteristics in all IoT scenarios which require trustworthy communications. However, resources can be a problem, for instance, many Things are designed to perform in low-powered hardware. Hence, we also propose a protocol to demonstrate how we can achieve the authenticity of participating Things in a connectionless and resource-constrained environment

The Use of Transferable Permits in Transport Policy

This paper considers potential use of domestic transferable, or tradable, permit systems for the purposes of travel management, especially reducing environmental nuisances. The main arguments for and against the use of permits are analyzed. Secondly two case studies of existing permit systems are examined. The main conclusions are that tradable permits can address greenhouse gas and regional atmospheric pollutant emissions, and are suitable for congestion on a restricted time–space basis. Permits applied to mobile sources are technically feasible at acceptable financial cost for protecting sensitive geographical areas, and schemes applied to automakers for unitary vehicle emissions are also viable.Domestic transferable permits ; tradable permits ; transport ; environment ; nuisances ; case studies ; Mobile sources

Novel African trypanocidal agents: membrane rigidifying peptides

The bloodstream developmental forms of pathogenic African trypanosomes are uniquely susceptible to killing by small hydrophobic peptides. Trypanocidal activity is conferred by peptide hydrophobicity and charge distribution and results from increased rigidity of the plasma membrane. Structural analysis of lipid-associated peptide suggests a mechanism of phospholipid clamping in which an internal hydrophobic bulge anchors the peptide in the membrane and positively charged moieties at the termini coordinate phosphates of the polar lipid headgroups. This mechanism reveals a necessary phenotype in bloodstream form African trypanosomes, high membrane fluidity, and we suggest that targeting the plasma membrane lipid bilayer as a whole may be a novel strategy for the development of new pharmaceutical agents. Additionally, the peptides we have described may be valuable tools for probing the biosynthetic machinery responsible for the unique composition and characteristics of African trypanosome plasma membranes

Human Motion Trajectory Prediction: A Survey

With growing numbers of intelligent autonomous systems in human environments, the ability of such systems to perceive, understand and anticipate human behavior becomes increasingly important. Specifically, predicting future positions of dynamic agents and planning considering such predictions are key tasks for self-driving vehicles, service robots and advanced surveillance systems. This paper provides a survey of human motion trajectory prediction. We review, analyze and structure a large selection of work from different communities and propose a taxonomy that categorizes existing methods based on the motion modeling approach and level of contextual information used. We provide an overview of the existing datasets and performance metrics. We discuss limitations of the state of the art and outline directions for further research.Comment: Submitted to the International Journal of Robotics Research (IJRR), 37 page

Affection not affliction: The role of emotions in information systems and organizational change

Most IS research in both the technical/rational and socio-technical traditions ignores or marginalizes the emotionally charged behaviours through which individuals engage in, and cope with the consequences of, IS practice and associated organizational change. Even within the small body of work that engages with emotions through particular conceptual efforts, affections are often conceived as a phenomenon to be eradicated – an affliction requiring a cure. In this paper, I argue that emotions are always implicated in our lived experiences, crucially influencing how we come to our beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong. I draw from the theoretical work of Michel Foucault to argue for elaborating current notions of IS innovation as a moral and political struggle in which individuals’ beliefs and feelings are constantly tested. Finally, I demonstrate these ideas by reference to a case study that had considerable emotional impact, and highlight the implications for future work