An approach to preventing spam using Access Codes with a combination of anti-spam mechanisms

Spam is becoming a more and more severe problem for individuals, networks, organisations and businesses. The losses caused by spam are billions of dollars every year. Research shows that spam contributes more than 80% of e-mails with an increased in its growth rate every year. Spam is not limited to emails; it has started affecting other technologies like VoIP, cellular and traditional telephony, and instant messaging services. None of the approaches (including legislative, collaborative, social awareness and technological) separately or in combination with other approaches, can prevent sufficient of the spam to be deemed a solution to the spam problem. The severity of the spam problem and the limitations of the state-of-the-Art solutions create a strong need for an efficient anti-spam mechanism that can prevent significant volumes of spam without showing any false positives. This can be achieved by an efficient anti-spam mechanism such as the proposed anti-spam mechanism known as "Spam Prevention using Access Codes", SPAC. SPAC targets spam from two angles i.e. to prevent/block spam and to discourage spammers by making the infrastructure environment very unpleasant for them. In addition to the idea of Access Codes, SPAC combines the ideas behind some of the key current technological anti-spam measures to increase effectiveness. The difference in this work is that SPAC uses those ideas effectively and combines them in a unique way which enables SPAC to acquire the good features of a number of technological anti-spam approaches without showing any of the drawbacks of these approaches. Sybil attacks, Dictionary attacks and address spoofing have no impact on the performance of SPAC. In fact SPAC functions in a similar way (i.e. as for unknown persons) for these sorts of attacks. An application known as the "SPAC application" has been developed to test the performance of the SPAC mechanism. The results obtained from various tests on the SPAC application show that SPAC has a clear edge over the existing anti-spam technological approaches

Rac1 links integrin-mediated adhesion to the control of lactational differentiation in mammary epithelia

The expression of tissue-specific genes during mammary gland differentiation relies on the coincidence of two distinct signaling events: the continued engagement of β1 integrins with the extracellular matrix (ECM) and a hormonal stimulus from prolactin (Prl). How the integrin and Prl receptor (PrlR) systems integrate to regulate milk protein gene synthesis is unknown. In this study, we identify Rac1 as a key link. Dominant-negative Rac1 prevents Prl-induced synthesis of the milk protein β-casein in primary mammary epithelial cells cultured as three-dimensional acini on basement membrane. Conversely, activated Rac1 rescues the defective β-casein synthesis that occurs under conditions not normally permissive for mammary differentiation, either in β1 integrin–null cells or in wild-type cells cultured on collagen. Rac1 is required downstream of integrins for activation of the PrlR/Stat5 signaling cascade. Cdc42 is also necessary for milk protein synthesis but functions via a distinct mechanism to Rac1. This study identifies the integration of signals provided by ECM and hormones as a novel role for Rho family guanosine triphosphatases

Preventive Approach to Unsubstantiated Claims and Disputes in the UK Construction Industry

Globally, claims and disputes are an unfortunate reality in construction projects. Recent statistics reveal that construction claims in the UK increased by 21% in 2018 compared to other countries such as India (8%), Mexico (3%), Ireland (2%), and Cyprus (2%). Though, construction industry is known for array of standard forms of contract and administrative tendencies; unsubstantiated claims and chronic disputes remain prevalent in the sector. Yet, there is little research on preventive approach to unsubstantiated claims that ultimately lead to disputes. The study advocates the use of Systematic and Technical Appraisal (STA) to prevent unsubstantiated claims and disputes in the construction industry. The study research method is based on qualitative research technique and use of case studies. The research question is: does systematic and technical appraisal of construction claims help prevent unsubstantiated claims and disputes in the UK construction industry? The study population sample is drawn from experienced industry stakeholders including clients, contractors, consultants, experienced quantity surveyors and cost managers in addition to use of construction case studies. Initial findings reveal that claim management processes in the construction sector are far-off from perfection. Other findings reveal that robust systematic and technical claim appraisal process has potential to prevent unsubstantiated claims; which in most cases lead to disputes. The study is part of an on-going PhD study to seek to develop an effective claim management system for the UK construction industry

Antecedents and outcomes of enabling HR practices: The paradox of consistency and flexibility

Reconciling competing demands for consistent HR implementation and providing individualized supervisor support to employees has always been a challenge in strategic human resource management. Given that there is burgeoning evidence that frontline managers (FLMs) are at the center of HR implementation, we examine how the organization helps FLMs reconcile demands for consistent HR implementation and deliver individualized support to those under their supervision. With the data from 181 FLMs and 311 employees reported to these FLMs, we find that FLMs' perceived enabling HR practices mediate the relationship between high-performance work systems and FLMs' willingness to be flexible (WTBF). Furthermore, WTBF mediates the relationship between FLMs' perceived enabling HR practices and consistent HR implementation and between FLMs' perceived enabling HR practices and employees' individualized support. Our study offers new insights by highlighting that an effective HR system is not merely improving FLMs' HR competency and knowledge but capturing FLMs' WTBF in carrying on a broad range of HR tasks. Furthermore, our study provides an expanded and novel understanding that FLMs will likely face two opposite HR tasks that coexist and should be dealt with simultaneously as a pair. We then discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and suggest future research directions

Development of an improved oxygen electrode for use in alkaline H2-O2 fuel cells Quarterly report, Apr. 1 - Jun. 30, 1967

Preparation of institial compounds of transition metals for hydrogen oxygen fuel cell cathode

Affective Organizational Commitment in Global Strategic Partnerships: The Role of Individual-Level Microfoundations and Social Change

The roles and commitment of employees within global strategic partnerships are imperative to their success. Whilst previous studies have addressed certain individual-level microfoundations and social change in an interpretivist manner, this study first proposes a theoretical framework consists of individual-level microfoundations, social change and affective organizational commitment—interlinked with social identity theory. We then validate the 16-item scale for individual-level microfoundations and the 24-item scale for social change based on data collected from global strategic partnerships. For testing of our conceptualization, path modeling finally confirms significant relationships between the constructs. Our findings further present the partial mediating role of social change between individual-level microfoundations and affective organizational commitment. Therefore, the study provides a new pathway in advancing our understanding of global strategic partnerships. It also validates two new constructs directly relevant to managing global strategic partnerships. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these linkages and contributions, and conclude by providing suggestions for future research