Always in control? Sovereign states in cyberspace

For well over twenty years, we have witnessed an intriguing debate about the nature of cyberspace. Used for everything from communication to commerce, it has transformed the way individuals and societies live. But how has it impacted the sovereignty of states? An initial wave of scholars argued that it had dramatically diminished centralised control by states, helped by a tidal wave of globalisation and freedom. These libertarian claims were considerable. More recently, a new wave of writing has argued that states have begun to recover control in cyberspace, focusing on either the police work of authoritarian regimes or the revelations of Edward Snowden. Both claims were wide of the mark. By contrast, this article argues that we have often misunderstood the materiality of cyberspace and its consequences for control. It not only challenges the libertarian narrative of freedom, it suggests that the anarchic imaginary of the Internet as a ‘Wild West’ was deliberately promoted by states in order to distract from the reality. The Internet, like previous forms of electronic connectivity, consists mostly of a physical infrastructure located in specific geographies and jurisdictions. Rather than circumscribing sovereignty, it has offered centralised authority new ways of conducting statecraft. Indeed, the Internet, high-speed computing, and voice recognition were all the result of security research by a single information hegemon and therefore it has always been in control

A physiological signal database of children with different special needs for stress recognition

This study presents a new dataset AKTIVES for evaluating the methods for stress detection and game reaction using physiological signals. We collected data from 25 children with obstetric brachial plexus injury, dyslexia, and intellectual disabilities, and typically developed children during game therapy. A wristband was used to record physiological data (blood volume pulse (BVP), electrodermal activity (EDA), and skin temperature (ST)). Furthermore, the facial expressions of children were recorded. Three experts watched the children's videos, and physiological data is labeled "Stress/No Stress" and "Reaction/No Reaction", according to the videos. The technical validation supported high-quality signals and showed consistency between the experts.Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Technology and Innovation Funding Programmes Directorat

Study on cloud computing perception of Turkish it sector

U radu je izvršena empirijska analiza o percepciji računarstva u oblacima (Cloud Computing – CC) u Turskoj. U tu svrhu analizom je potrebno odrediti stav rukovodećih ljudi informatičke tehnologije kao što su izvršni direktori i direktori za informatičke tehnologije ispitivanjem njihovih odgovora na upitnike u svrhu dobivanja mišljenja i stavova 98 javnih i privatnih direktora IT o CC. Svrha je ispitivanja odrediti kako CC shvaćaju društvene i privatne organizacije koje su već uključene u postupak e-transformacije. Dobiveni su sljedeći bitni rezultati: direktori obadva sektora, društvenog i privatnog, imaju pozitivan stav o uvođenju CC, smatraju da naročito web, e-mail, pohranjivanje podataka i aplikacije upravljanja procesom, odgovaraju za CC. Nedostatak dobro obrazovanog i iskusnog osoblja smatra se najvećom zaprekom za uvođenje CC po mišljenju kako učesnika iz javnog tako i privatnog sektora.In this paper an empirical study was carried out to study the Cloud Computing (CC) perception in Turkey. To this extent this study intends to determine the perception of Information Technology decision makers such as Chief Executive Officers and Chief Information Officers by means of a survey by questionnaire approach to explore 98 both public and private IT executives’ understandings and concerns about CC. The survey aims to determine how CC is perceived by public or private organizations that are already involved in the e-transformation process. Major results of the study are as follows: both public and private sector executives have positive perception over adoption of CC, participants think that especially web, e-mail, data storage and process management applications are adequate for CC. Lack of well-educated and experienced staff is found to be the common barrier on adopting CC by both public and private sector participants

Prospects of Mobile Search

Search faces (at least) two major challenges. One is to improve efficiency of retrieving relevant content for all digital formats (images, audio, video, 3D shapes, etc). The second is making relevant information retrievable in a range of platforms, particularly in high diffusion ones as mobiles. The two challenges are interrelated but distinct. This report aims at assessing the potential of future Mobile Search. Two broad groups of search-based applications can be identified. The first one is the adaptation and emulation of web search processes and services to the mobile environment. The second one is services exploiting the unique features of the mobile devices and the mobile environments. Examples of these context-aware services include location-based services or interfacing to the internet of things (RFID networks). The report starts by providing an introduction to mobile search. It highlights differences and commonalities with search technologies on other platforms (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 is devoted to the supply side of mobile search markets. It describes mobile markets, presents key figures and gives an outline of main business models and players. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the demand side of the market. It studies users¿ acceptance and demand using the results on a case study in Sweden. Chapter 4 presents emerging trends in technology and markets that could shape mobile search. It is the author's view after discussing with many experts. One input to this discussion was the analysis of on forward-looking scenarios for mobile developed by the authors (Chapter 5). Experts were asked to evaluate these scenarios. Another input was a questionnaire to which 61 experts responded. Drivers, barriers and enablers for mobile search have been synthesised into SWOT analysis. The report concludes with some policy recommendations in view of the likely socio-economic implications of mobile search in Europe.JRC.DG.J.4-Information Societ

Open Source Platforms for Big Data Analytics

O conceito de Big Data tem tido um grande impacto no campo da tecnologia, em particular na gestão e análise de enormes volumes de informação. Atualmente, as organizações consideram o Big Data como uma oportunidade para gerir e explorar os seus dados o máximo possível, com o objetivo de apoiar as suas decisões dentro das diferentes áreas operacionais. Assim, é necessário analisar vários conceitos sobre o Big Data e o Big Data Analytics, incluindo definições, características, vantagens e desafios. As ferramentas de Business Intelligence (BI), juntamente com a geração de conhecimento, são conceitos fundamentais para o processo de tomada de decisão e transformação da informação. Ao investigar as plataformas de Big Data, as práticas industriais atuais e as tendências relacionadas com o mundo da investigação, é possível entender o impacto do Big Data Analytics nas pequenas organizações. Este trabalho pretende propor soluções para as micro, pequenas ou médias empresas (PME) que têm um grande impacto na economia portuguesa, dado que representam a maioria do tecido empresarial. As plataformas de código aberto para o Big Data Analytics oferecem uma grande oportunidade de inovação nas PMEs. Este trabalho de pesquisa apresenta uma análise comparativa das funcionalidades e características das plataformas e os passos a serem tomados para uma análise mais profunda e comparativa. Após a análise comparativa, apresentamos uma avaliação e seleção de plataformas Big Data Analytics (BDA) usando e adaptando a metodologia QSOS (Qualification and Selection of software Open Source) para qualificação e seleção de software open-source. O resultado desta avaliação e seleção traduziu-se na eleição de duas plataformas para os testes experimentais. Nas plataformas de software livre de BDA foi usado o mesmo conjunto de dados assim como a mesma configuração de hardware e software. Na comparação das duas plataformas, demonstrou que a HPCC Systems Platform é mais eficiente e confiável que a Hortonworks Data Platform. Em particular, as PME portuguesas devem considerar as plataformas BDA como uma oportunidade de obter vantagem competitiva e melhorar os seus processos e, consequentemente, definir uma estratégia de TI e de negócio. Por fim, este é um trabalho sobre Big Data, que se espera que sirva como um convite e motivação para novos trabalhos de investigação.The concept of Big Data has been having a great impact in the field of technology, particularly in the management and analysis of huge volumes of information. Nowadays organizations look for Big Data as an opportunity to manage and explore their data the maximum they can, with the objective of support decisions within its different operational areas. Thus, it is necessary to analyse several concepts about Big Data and Big Data Analytics, including definitions, features, advantages and disadvantages. Business intelligence along with the generation of knowledge are fundamental concepts for the process of decision-making and transformation of information. By investigate today's big data platforms, current industrial practices and related trends in the research world, it is possible to understand the impact of Big Data Analytics on small organizations. This research intends to propose solutions for micro, small or médium enterprises (SMEs) that have a great impact on the Portuguese economy since they represente approximately 90% of the companies in Portugal. The open source platforms for Big Data Analytics offers a great opportunity for SMEs. This research work presents a comparative analysis of those platforms features and functionalities and the steps that will be taken for a more profound and comparative analysis. After the comparative analysis, we present an evaluation and selection of Big Data Analytics (BDA) platforms using and adapting the Qualification and Selection of software Open Source (QSOS) method. The result of this evaluation and selection was the selection of two platforms for the empirical experiment and tests. The same testbed and dataset was used in the two Open Source Big Data Analytics platforms. When comparing two BDA platforms, HPCC Systems Platform is found to be more efficient and reliable than Hortonworks Data Platform. In particular, Portuguese SMEs should consider for BDA platforms an opportunity to obtain competitive advantage and improve their processes and consequently define an IT and business strategy. Finally, this is a research work on Big Data; it is hoped that this will serve as an invitation and motivation for new research

The use of educational robotics in the development of students’ computational thinking and cognitive skills: a systematic literature review

Educational robotics and computational thinking can improve students’ cognition by stimulating logical reasoning and creative and collaborative problem solving. In this sense, this article presents a systematic review of the literature that investigated the use of educational robotics and computational thinking in the cognitive development of students. 1080 relevant articles were identified in scientific databases and, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 41 articles were selected for more detailed analysis, of which 15 were directly related to the purpose of the review. Most of the investigated studies showed a positive result, indicating that robotics and computational thinking can contribute to improving students’ cognition, stimulating skills such as problem solving, logical reasoning and creativity

A Review of Research on Gamification Approach in Education

Gamification has become the most popular topic of the last few years. Studies in gamification area are examined based on certain different criteria in this study and content analysis method was used in order to identify trends in this area. Web of Science were scanned through using gamification as keyword without year restriction. A total number of 313 studies were regarded as appropriate for the aim of the study and examined. It is seen that research in this area have begun in 2011 and increased every year. It is also seen that motivational theories are mostly preferred in the studies conducted in gamification area. It was determined that goal-duty, reward and progression sticks are the mostly used components as game components. It is seen that gamification applications are frequently preferred in virtual environment, simulation and augmented reality learning environments after mobile environments and in parallel with these, they are also preferred in learning areas such as public, service, food and health. Therefore, identifying different activities which could affect success in online environments, integrating these into education environment and provide these activities with theories appropriate for students’ ages for them not to lose their motivation are essential

Techno-Utopia/ Techno-Dystopia: Writing the Future of Cyber-Technology

Will cyberspace ever become truly inhabitable, and if so, what kind of political climate will be present there? By investigating emergent discourses surrounding the future of cyber-technology, I reveal how online users are actively engaged in the preemptive literary construction and interpretation of a not yet realized cosmopolitics of virtual spaces. Additionally, I argue that futurism online constitutes the emergence of a novel form of real-time genre fiction intertextually linked to more conventional forms of science fiction that interpenetrate both public and academic discourses and interpret cyberspace as a potential source of either boundless freedom or dystopia