ADN: An Information-Centric Networking Architecture for the Internet of Things

Forwarding data by name has been assumed to be a necessary aspect of an information-centric redesign of the current Internet architecture that makes content access, dissemination, and storage more efficient. The Named Data Networking (NDN) and Content-Centric Networking (CCNx) architectures are the leading examples of such an approach. However, forwarding data by name incurs storage and communication complexities that are orders of magnitude larger than solutions based on forwarding data using addresses. Furthermore, the specific algorithms used in NDN and CCNx have been shown to have a number of limitations. The Addressable Data Networking (ADN) architecture is introduced as an alternative to NDN and CCNx. ADN is particularly attractive for large-scale deployments of the Internet of Things (IoT), because it requires far less storage and processing in relaying nodes than NDN. ADN allows things and data to be denoted by names, just like NDN and CCNx do. However, instead of replacing the waist of the Internet with named-data forwarding, ADN uses an address-based forwarding plane and introduces an information plane that seamlessly maps names to addresses without the involvement of end-user applications. Simulation results illustrate the order of magnitude savings in complexity that can be attained with ADN compared to NDN.Comment: 10 page

“We make something with the flower, but feel like I make with myself something”: The role of a community arts project supporting women who have experienced human trafficking

Human trafficking can have multiple adverse effects on a victim's mental and physical health. The study explored how a small UK community arts project was experienced by individuals post-trafficking and the impact it had on well-being. Community-based participatory research was employed to increase understanding the experiences of six female participants taking part in a community arts project. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes of Authentic Care, Building Confidence, and Creative Expression were developed. Findings suggest the community arts organization played a vital role in supporting women to build trust and social connections, as well as to feel valued. Artistic activities helped participants express individuality, had therapeutic benefits, and provided motivation, routine, and space from worries. The role of community arts organizations is important in supporting individuals in the context of limited post-trafficking services

Getting to the point? Rethinking arrows on maps

Maps help to form public opinion and build public morale. When the war is over, they will contribute to shaping the thought and action of those responsible for the reconstruction of a shattered world. Hence it is important in these times that the nature of the information they set forth should be well understood (Wright, Citation1942: 527). Maps form an essential part of the language used to communicate conflict. They are used to plan military operations and to indicate their consequences to a wider audience by providing the visual basis for articulating the movement of troops, displaced populations and shifting territories between competing powers. Consequently, mapmakers draw from a well-used toolbox of symbols and techniques to describe the dynamic nature of war in familiar ways. For those maps designed for public consumption, which is our focus here, these methods often include broad, swooping arrows for representing movements of troops and displaced people, starburst or explosion symbols for battles and the use of strong colours for changes in territory. In many respects, mapmakers working in the news media conformed to these established cartographic norms when they first responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022. However, unlike previous conflicts that have attracted global attention, their maps were subject to wider critique – particularly on social media – which brought into sharp focus the way that maps can communicate the consequences of war and prompted some cartographic innovation. The critique coalesced around two themes: first, how territory was being represented in terms of Russian gains (and therefore Ukrainian losses) during the first weeks of the conflict (see Fafinski, Citation2022); and second, how the huge exodus of Ukrainians from their country should be captured cartographically (see Cheshire, Citation2022). The latter, especially, prompted questions about the suitability of using arrows to indicate the flow of Ukrainian refugees to surrounding countries when arrows were being used simultaneously to indicate invading Russian troops. In this short paper, we aim to provide a critical examination of whether the arrow is fit for purpose in communicating the displacement of people as a direct result of conflict. Since arrows have become the go-to cartographic symbol for portraying movement, particularly as a result of war and other geopolitical events, we explore their origins and evolution on maps before discussing how arrows and their alternatives have been used in news media coverage of the war in Ukraine. We contend that critique and innovation is necessary for the development and use of more effective, and ultimately more appropriate, cartographic symbology

The Changing Narratives of Death, Dying, and HIV in the United Kingdom

Death and infection were closely linked from the start of the HIV epidemic, until successful treatments became available. The initial impact of mostly young, gay men dying from HIV was powerful in shaping UK responses. Neoliberal discourses developed at the same time, particularly focusing on how citizens (rather than the state) should take responsibility to improve health. Subsequently “successful ageing” became an allied discourse, further marginalising death discussions. Our study reflected on a broad range of meanings around death within the historical UK epidemic, to examine how dying narratives shape contemporary HIV experiences. Fifty-one participants including people living with HIV, professionals, and activists were recruited for semistructured interviews. Assuming a symbolic interactionist framework, analysis highlighted how HIV deaths were initially experienced as not only traumatic but also energizing, leading to creativity. With effective antiretrovirals, dying changed shape (e.g., loss of death literacy), and better integration of palliative care was recommended

Detecting Address Uncertainty in Loyalty Card Data

There is a fundamental need to better appreciate the dynamics and uncertainty of large consumer datasets, particularly if they are to be utilised to model social and geographical phenomena. This research, the first to utilise a major UK retailer’s loyalty card dataset, presents a novel data-driven approach for quantifying uncertainty in consumer addresses. Uncertain cases were identified through the linkage of locational and behavioural attributes and consumer mobility patterns recorded at a small area level. Such methods are not only important for the reliable adoption of large commercially generated datasets in research, but also for retailers if utilising this information to inform location-based marketing strategies. Results are contextualized with dynamics in the general population, demonstrating comparable relationships with Census migration patterns

Deriving retail centre locations and catchments from geo-tagged Twitter data

This investigation offers an initial foray into the application of geo-tagged Twitter data for generating insights within two areas of retail geography: establishing retail centre locations and defining catchment areas. Retail related Tweets were identified and their spatial attributes examined with an adaptive kernel density estimation, revealing that retail related Twitter content can successfully locate areas of elevated retail activity, however, these are constrained by biases within the data. Methods must also account for the underlying geographic distribution of Tweets to detect these fluctuations. Additionally, geo-tagged Twitter data can be utilised to examine human mobility patterns in a retail centre context. The catchments constructed from the data highlight the importance of accessibility on flows between locations, which have implications for the likely commuting choices that may be involved in retail centre journey decision-making. These approaches demonstrate the potential applications for less conventional datasets, such as those derived from social media data, to previously under-researched areas

Assessing the impacts of Airbnb listings on London house prices

Over the course of the last decade, sharing economy platforms have experienced significant growth within cities around the world. Airbnb, which is one of the largest and best-known platforms, provides the focus for this paper and offers a service that allows users to rent properties or spare rooms to guests. Its rapid growth has led to a growing discourse around the consequences of Airbnb rentals within the local context. The research within this paper focuses on determining impact on local housing prices within the inner London boroughs by constructing a longitudinal panel dataset, on which a fixed and random effects regression was conducted. The results indicate that there is a significant and modest positive association between the frequency of Airbnb and the house price per square metre in these boroughs

HIV-related stigma in the UK then and now: to what extent are we on track to eliminate stigma? A qualitative investigation

Background The introduction of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s led to the perception that HIV was a chronic but manageable condition. Nevertheless, stigma remains one of the major hurdles for people living with HIV (PLWH) to accessing healthcare and biomedical preventions. Thus, Fast Track Cities has set a target of zero HIV discrimination by 2030 as part of its strategy to end HIV transmission. Methods Fifty-three participants from the United Kingdom, including PLWH (n = 21, 40%), health and social care workers (n = 24, 45%), and charity workers and activists (n = 13, 25%), were recruited. Semi-structured interviews investigated stigma and discrimination, focusing on both before and after the widespread use of effective antiretroviral treatment in the late 1990s. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. Results Before effective antiretroviral treatment narratives were shaped by two main themes: 1) the media’s role in influencing public opinion and contributing to misunderstandings of HIV transmission; and 2) personal experiences of HIV-related stigma, which for PLWH included incidents of physical violence and aggression, as well as fears of their HIV status being publicised. Contemporary narratives on stigma experiences were organised around four themes: 1) discrimination in healthcare settings; 2) stigma amongst men who have sex with men (MSM); 3) stigma towards African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH; and 4) the limits of change in public HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. Contemporary narratives indicated a reduction in enacted stigma, but continued anticipation of discrimination and self-reported shame, particularly in MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean PLWH. Conclusion The nature of stigma against those with HIV has evolved. The intersection of PLWH and minority groups (e.g. MSM and African and Afro-Caribbean persons) may enhance anticipatory and internalised stigma, with some suggestion that this may contribute to reduced engagement in HIV care and prevention services. Our findings indicate the need for further research in this area, as well as proactive interventions with community groups to enhance knowledge of HIV

To what extent does a regional dialect and accent impact on the development of reading and writing skills?

The issue of whether a regional accent and/or dialect impact(s) on the development of literacy skills remains current in the UK. For decades the issue has dogged debate about education outcomes, portable skills and employability. The article summarizes research on the topic using systematic review methodology. A scoping review was undertaken with the research question ‘To what extent does a regional dialect and accent impact on the development of reading and writing skills?’. The review covers research relevant to the teaching of 5-16 year olds in England, but also draws on research within Europe, the USA, Australia and the Caribbean. The results suggest that curricula have marginalized language variation; that the impact of regional accent and dialect on writing is relatively minor; that young people are adept at style-shifting between standard and non-standard forms; and that inappropriate pedagogical responses to regional variation can have detrimental effects on children’s educational achievement

Inelastic interaction mean free path of negative pions in tungsten

The inelastic interaction mean free paths lambda of 5, 10, and 15 GeV/c pions were measured by determining the distribution of first interaction locations in a modular tungsten-scintillator ionization spectrometer. In addition to commonly used interaction signatures of a few (2-5) particles in two or three consecutive modules, a chi2 distribution is used to calculate the probability that the first interaction occurred at a specific depth in the spectrometer. This latter technique seems to be more reliable than use of the simpler criteria. No significant dependence of lambda on energy was observed. In tungsten, lambda for pions is 206 plus or minus 6 g/sq cm