Can Neurodiversity Help Close the Job Gap in Cyber Security?

With cyberattacks growing at an exponential rate and a worldwide cybersecurity workforce shortage, enabling job opportunities for neurominorities benefits organizations and individuals. According to the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, Cybersecurity Workforce Study estimates that around four million more cyber professionals are needed worldwide to meet job demand. With so much talent needed, making organizations more accessible to neuro-minorities may hold the key to cybersecurity talent gap. Based on Crest\u27s, an international not-forprofit accreditation and certification body that represents and supports the technical information security market, 2020 report, Neurodiversity in the cybersecurity workplace, stated: The Cybersecurity industry recognizes that people on the autistic spectrum can provide invaluable skills to the sector and are often the best performers in technical roles. The first step to achieving this vision is connecting the dots between early STEM education, cybersecurity career training, hiring methods, and emphasize neurodiversity as part of the organization’s brand

A mixed logit model for the sensitivity analysis of Greek drivers' behaviour towards enforcement for road safety

Traffic violations are among the leading causes of road accidents. In this research, the sensitivity of Greek drivers to a hypothetical intensification of police enforcement for speed violations and improper overtaking is analyzed, using stated preference data. Under the assumption of increased police enforcement, drivers were presented with the option to maintain their unsafe driving patterns (and risk getting fined) or comply with the traffic laws (and experience longer trip duration). A parsimonious mixed logit model has been estimated and sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to the main variables. The model explicitly captures the (unobserved) heterogeneity in the sample, and reflects the fixed random parameter across observations from the same respondent. The behaviour of the surveyed drivers depends on socioeconomic characteristics and trip characteristics. Based on the presented sensitivity analysis, it can be argued that while the “typical” Greek driver may not be particularly riskprone, there are segments of the population that show a tendency to violate traffic laws. This is a useful finding that could be used by policy makers e.g. to develop targeted police enforcement campaigns (or targeted media campaigns, special education initiatives, etc.), aimed at the demographic segments with a higher tendency for traffic violation

Impact of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems on Urban Traffic Network Conditions

This research deals with the investigation of the advanced driver assistance systems impact on urban traffic network conditions through the use of a traffic network simulation model. Information obtained through microscopic simulation was used as input to a network traffic simulation and assignment model (SATURN). SATURN was applied to the road network of the greater Athens area in an attempt to investigate the impact of two ADAS systems [variable speed limiter (VSL) and adaptive cruise control (ACC)] for different combinations of flow and market penetration levels. It was observed that the ADA systems' impact increases proportionally with the market penetration of these systems and that as traffic flow level increases, the average speed increase becomes smaller (when all other parameters remain unchanged). Furthermore, it appears that ACC offers better network efficiency results than VSL (up to twice as significant) and the benefits of a combined ACC and VSL system are only marginally better than the ACC system alone. The proposed methodology and the related findings can support system developers and policy makers in the process of further ADAS development and promotion

Assessment of Adaptive Radiotherapy Workflows for Head and Neck Cancer

Inter-fractional anatomical variations of head and neck (H&N) cancer patients can lead to clinically significant dosimetric changes. Adaptive re-planning should thus commence to negate any potential over-dosage to organs-at-risk (OAR), as well as potential under-dosage to target lesions. Ontreatment transit dosimetry with an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) may be a useful means of establishing when adaptive re-planning is required for head and neck cancer patients. The aim of this thesis is to a) develop an in-house script to predict transit EPIs with a Varian linear accelerator and the RayStation treatment planning system, and b) apply the script in a treatment simulation environment to explore the correlation between relative change in EPID measured transit dose and relative change in dose volume histogram (DVH) metrics to target and OAR structures over the course of treatment. The in-house developed script was capable of predicting measured EPIs dose in the setting of pre-treatment quality assurance (i.e. with no patient present), however requires further work to better approximate absolute transit dosimetry. The transit dosimetry simulation tool was successfully developed and retrospectively applied to 8 head and neck cancer patient data sets. A strong correlation between change in transit fluence and planning target volume (PTV) D98 and a weak correlation with spinal cord D0.03cc was found. A weighted projection mask was developed for PTV and spinal cord structures by considering the intraangle overlap between fluence and structure contours projected onto the EPID. The sensitivity of the correlation between change in transit fluence with PTV D98 and spinal cord D0.03cc was found to increase by 113% and 196% respectively, with the weighting mask applied. Overall, the simulation toolkit developed in this work provides a useful means to investigate the relationship between change in transit fluence and change in key dosimetric parameters for head and neck cancer patients.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Physical Sciences, 202

Is laparoscopic ileocecal resection a safe option for Crohn's disease? Best evidence topic

AbstractA best evidence topic was constructed according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was whether laparoscopic ileocecal resection for Crohn's disease is associated with higher morbidity rates in comparison to open surgery. From a total of 123 articles, 11 studies provided the best available evidence on this topic. Five observational studies, two randomized trials, three follow up studies and a meta-analysis were identified. The primary author, date and country of publication, study type, patient group characteristics, relevant outcome parameters and results of these papers were tabulated. Perioperative morbidity was either similar between the laparoscopic and the open group, or favored the laparoscopic approach. Convalescence was consistently reported to be shorter in the laparoscopic treatment arm, at cost of longer duration of surgery. Limited evidence suggests lower incidence of small bowel obstruction and disease recurrence for laparoscopy, although follow up data are of poor quality. It may be concluded that laparoscopic ileocecal resection is a safe alternative approach to open surgery for uncomplicated Crohn's disease, provided laparoscopic expertise is available

Designing an effective information security policy for exceptional situations in an organization: An experimental study

An increasing number of researchers are recognizing the importance of the role played by employees in maintaining the effectiveness of an information security policy. Currently, little research exists to validate the relationship between the actions (behaviors) taken by employees in response to exceptional situations (antecedents) regarding an organization’s information security policy, the impact (consequences) those actions have on an organization, and the motives that prompt those actions. When these exceptional situations occur, employees may feel compelled to engage in behaviors that violate the terms of an information security policy because strict compliance with the policy could cause the organization to lose revenue, reputability or some other business advantage. To address this issue, this research study investigated how to design an effective information security policy for exceptional situations in an organization. In order to achieve this goal, this study explored how an information security policy should be designed with the critical components of clarity, comprehensiveness, ease of use and flexibility, in addition to including provisions for the work contingencies of employees. The aim of this proposed study was to demonstrate how the application principles of the prima-facie, utilitarian and universalizability design theories can aid in designing an information security policy that includes these essential elements. The research study explored the effectiveness of the policy\u27s design and the effect it had on employee compliance with the policy in exceptional situations. A survey questionnaire was administered to a control group and an experimental group consisting of full-time and part-time employees who worked in various departments of a single organization. The survey employed a five-point Likert-type scale. The data gathered from the questionnaire was analyzed. Inferential statistics used the general linear model (GLM), including the t-test, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), regression analysis, and factor analysis with the latest SPSS version computer statistical analysis program. This study built to develop a model for designing an effective information security policy for exceptional situations in an organization. Based on the analysis of fit the model for designing an effective information security policy for exceptional situations in an organization was determine to be a success model. This study should provide many opportunities for future research, as well as providing information security practitioners and academics a solid roadmap for designing effective information security policies within an organization to apply during exceptional situations