Protecting attributes and contents in online social networks

With the extreme popularity of online social networks, security and privacy issues become critical. In particular, it is important to protect user privacy without preventing them from normal socialization. User privacy in the context of data publishing and structural re-identification attacks has been well studied. However, protection of attributes and data content was mostly neglected in the research community. While social network data is rarely published, billions of messages are shared in various social networks on a daily basis. Therefore, it is more important to protect attributes and textual content in social networks. We first study the vulnerabilities of user attributes and contents, in particular, the identifiability of the users when the adversary learns a small piece of information about the target. We have presented two attribute-reidentification attacks that exploit information retrieval and web search techniques. We have shown that large portions of users with online presence are very identifiable, even with a small piece of seed information, and the seed information could be inaccurate. To protect user attributes and content, we adopt the social circle model derived from the concepts of "privacy as user perception" and "information boundary". Users will have different social circles, and share different information in different circles. We introduce a social circle discovery approach using multi-view clustering. We present our observations on the key features of social circles, including friendship links, content similarity and social interactions. We treat each feature as one view, and propose a one-side co-trained spectral clustering technique, which is tailored for the sparse nature of our data. We also propose two evaluation measurements. One is based on the quantitative measure of similarity ratio, while the other employs human evaluators to examine pairs of users, who are selected by the max-risk active evaluation approach. We evaluate our approach on ego networks of twitter users, and present our clustering results. We also compare our proposed clustering technique with single-view clustering and original co-trained spectral clustering techniques. Our results show that multi-view clustering is more accurate for social circle detection; and our proposed approach gains significantly higher similarity ratio than the original multi-view clustering approach. In addition, we build a proof-of-concept implementation of automatic circle detection and recommendation methods. For a user, the system will return its circle detection result from our proposed multi-view clustering technique, and the key words for each circle are also presented. Users can also enter a message they want to post, and the system will suggest which circle to disseminate the message

Student attitudes to games-based skills development: learning from video games in higher education

Qualitative interview data is presented in support of previously-published quantitative evidence that suggests commercial video games may be used to develop useful skills and competencies in undergraduate students. The purpose of the work described here was to document the attitudes of those students involved in the quantitative study and to explore how the game-based intervention was perceived. To this end, student attitudes to the use of specified games to develop communication skill, resourcefulness and adaptability are examined. A broadly positive perception of the games' efficacy for skills development is revealed, and the aspects of game play that students believe contribute to skills development are discussed. These aspects include the need to communicate with team mates in order to succeed, and the fluid, unpredictable nature of in-game challenges. It is suggested that while the games played an important role in skills development, interaction between students, facilitated by game play, was also a significant factor

How PR faced the challenge of the “information superhighway”

Before the Internet, social media and search engine optimisation, there was the “information superhighway” and the “Megachip age” in the 1980s. Although PR practitioners were slower than other communicators to recognise the potential of Internet and social media, there was some discussion thirty years ago. Drawing on the archive of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), this paper reviews 21 papers of contemporary discussion over a 15 year period from 1981 to 1996 and draws lessons about the stages of adoption of innovative technology by practitioners. The views of practitioners varied over time. In the initial period from 1981 to 1987 their attitudes ranged from advancing the potential for rapid international outreach (Plank, 1983; Hietpas, 1984) to gloom about deskilling (McPhail 1987) and the future irrelevance of public relations counselling (Pessalano, 1984). From 1989 to 1996, as PR 1.0 (use of email) came in practice, there was less comment but continued concern that the faster information flow was leading to communication “dis-information” (Linning 1995). Only in 1996 was the term “Internet” introduced and lauded as beneficial development (Wilson, 1996). Overall, public relations practitioners are portrayed as slow to understand the benefits of the rapid technical advances in communication and holding doggedly to models of mediated communication. They also failed to foresee that information would be available for more people through IT developments, rather than fewer. The very evident reticence displayed by the IPRA publications sample may indicate why the digital communications sector was able to form outside the purview of the public relations sector and became a competitor to it (Theaker, 2004; Earl & Waddington, 2012)

Servicing the federation : the case for metadata harvesting

The paper presents a comparative analysis of data harvesting and distributed computing as complementary models of service delivery within large-scale federated digital libraries. Informed by requirements of flexibility and scalability of federated services, the analysis focuses on the identification and assessment of model invariants. In particular, it abstracts over application domains, services, and protocol implementations. The analytical evidence produced shows that the harvesting model offers stronger guarantees of satisfying the identified requirements. In addition, it suggests a first characterisation of services based on their suitability to either model and thus indicates how they could be integrated in the context of a single federated digital library

A new paradigm for deep sustainability: biourbanism

Biourbanism introduces new conceptual and planning models for a new kind of city, valuing social and economical regeneration of the built environment through developing and healthy communities. Thus, it combines technical aspects, such as zero-emission, energy efficiency, information technology, etc. and the promotion of social sustainability and human well being. In effect, this new paradigm endorses principles of geometrical coherence, Biophilic design, BioArchitecture, Biomimesis, etc. in practices of design and also new urban policies and, especially Biopolitics to promote urban revitalization by ensuring that man-made changes do not have harmful effects to humans. Green city standards start inside the designs of each building and continue either in unbuilt spaces surrounding buildings or inside complex infrastructural networks, connecting buildings and people. The proposed presentation should illustrate how new exciting developments recently, such as fractals, complexity theory, evolutionary biology and artificial intelligence are interrelated and constantly stimulate interaction between human beings and the surrounding environment. New Biophilic solutions in designs of buildings have been proved as attractive opportunities for new markets of housing. Thus, some new infrastructural projects start embracing Biophilic advanced solutions which finally aim at energy efficiency and optimal performance. As parallel activity we can now see emerging new innovative monitoring systems of building health not only in small scale, but also in large scale buildings, such as rail stations, for example, and commercial centres or even sometimes entire educational complexes integrated to new infrastructural projects. Some important case studies are going to be presented; they have been analysed and evaluated by Biourbanism and Biophilia principles and applied methods of design

Recovery From Design

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form

Proposed Lake Arthur Detention Basin Expansion City of Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas

Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Terracon) was contracted by the City of Port Arthur (client) to conduct a cultural resources survey of an approximately 54-acre project area in Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas in advance of the proposed expansion of an existing detention basin. Since the proposed undertaking will occur on land owned or controlled by a political subdivision of the State of Texas, and because funding for this project will come, in part, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), this project required compliance with the Antiquities Code of Texas (Texas Natural Resources Code Chapter 191) and its implementing rules and regulations (Texas Administrative Code Chapter 26) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), (54 USC § 306101) and its implementing rules and regulations, 36 CFR 800. This project was conducted under Antiquities Permit #9109. The proposed project area comprises a 54-acre tract of land located between Texas State Highway 347 and U.S. Route 69 in Port Arthur, Texas. Terracon archeologists excavated a total of eleven (11) shovel tests to a depth of 80 centimeters (cm) below surface, or to sediments inferred to predate human occupation in the area. The removed sediment was passed through ¼-inch hardware mesh to screen for artifacts. No cultural materials were identified during the survey. Additionally, to comply with Section 106 of the NRHP, adjacent parcels were evaluated to determine whether historic properties might be present and subject to visual effects from the project. No such historic properties were identified. Fieldwork was conducted between October 15 and October 17, 2019 by Michael Hogan (Staff Archeologist) and Amani Bourji (Field Technician) under the supervision of Jenni Hatchett Kimbell (Principal Investigator). The report was authored by Michael Hogan and Jenni Hatchett Kimbell. Given the absence of known prehistoric or historical-period resources within the proposed project area, Terracon recommends that the expansion of the Lake Arthur detention basin proceed as planned. Should human remains, historic properties, or buried cultural materials be encountered during construction or disturbance activities, work should cease in the immediate vicinity and Terracon, the Texas Historical Commission (THC) Archeology Division, or other proper authorities should be contacted