PrivateRide: A Privacy-Enhanced Ride-Hailing Service

In the past few years, we have witnessed a rise in the popularity of ride-hailing services (RHSs), an on-line marketplace that enables accredited drivers to use their own cars to drive ride-hailing users. Unlike other transportation services, RHSs raise significant privacy concerns, as providers are able to track the precise mobility patterns of millions of riders worldwide. We present the first survey and analysis of the privacy threats in RHSs. Our analysis exposes high-risk privacy threats that do not occur in conventional taxi services. Therefore, we pro- pose PrivateRide, a privacy-enhancing and practical solu- tion that offers anonymity and location privacy for riders, and protects drivers’ information from harvesting attacks. PrivateRide lowers the high-risk privacy threats in RHSs to a level that is at least as low as that of many taxi services. Using real data-sets from Uber and taxi rides, we show that PrivateRide significantly enhances riders’ privacy, while preserving tangible accuracy in ride matching and fare calculation, with only negligible effects on convenience. Moreover, by using our Android implementation for experimental evaluations, we show that PrivateRide’s overhead during ride setup is negligible. In short, we enable privacy- conscious riders to achieve levels of privacy that are not possible in current RHSs and even in some conventional taxi services, thereby offering a potential business differentiator

Inelastically scattering particles and wealth distribution in an open economy

Using the analogy with inelastic granular gasses we introduce a model for wealth exchange in society. The dynamics is governed by a kinetic equation, which allows for self-similar solutions. The scaling function has a power-law tail, the exponent being given by a transcendental equation. In the limit of continuous trading, closed form of the wealth distribution is calculated analytically.Comment: 8 pages 5 figure

basic concepts on systems of systems

A System of System (SoS) stems from the integration of existing systems (legacy systems), normally operated by different organizations, and new systems that have been designed to take advantage of this integration

Analyzing and Modeling Real-World Phenomena with Complex Networks: A Survey of Applications

The success of new scientific areas can be assessed by their potential for contributing to new theoretical approaches and in applications to real-world problems. Complex networks have fared extremely well in both of these aspects, with their sound theoretical basis developed over the years and with a variety of applications. In this survey, we analyze the applications of complex networks to real-world problems and data, with emphasis in representation, analysis and modeling, after an introduction to the main concepts and models. A diversity of phenomena are surveyed, which may be classified into no less than 22 areas, providing a clear indication of the impact of the field of complex networks.Comment: 103 pages, 3 figures and 7 tables. A working manuscript, suggestions are welcome

Data Network Simulator with Classical Ballet

[data]storm, from readysaltedcode CIC, a data driven dance performance. The development of a social network simulator to demonstrate network growth and message propagation. The underpinning theory of piece stems from social network theory (SNT), graph theory, computer mediated communication (CMC) through to social information processing (SIP) and Computational Thinking (CT). The data visualisation is linked to the physical ballet movements of the dancers, they are a manifestation of the data. The data visualisations on screen link to the live dancers performance patterns and modify to create the visuals and movements of data transmission across a network. Network growth. The first of the simulations shows network growth. Each node in the network represents a user who has the following characteristics: • friendliness (how often they're likely to make friends with another user) • chattiness (how often they send out messages) • category (the subject area they're most interested in) At random time intervals things occur: New users are added to the network depending on the above characteristics, users become friends with each other. All the rules stay the same throughout the simulation. At the same time the dance (ballet) movements and wearables (LEDS) were choreographed/coded to accompany the data visualisation using network mapping techniques. The choreography and wearables elements link to the friendliness and chattiness of each of the nodes in the simulated network. This network simulation is further utilised in the Virus section of the performance using the same rules to simulate how a virus can spread through a network. Further work on this simulation will look at two things 1. Message propagation and viral messaging within a social network like Twitter. 2. Pain signals within the body and how they compare to data transfer within a social network

Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe

Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local European wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process

Manufacturing and Supply Chain Flexibility: Building an Integrative Conceptual Model Through Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to establish the current themes on the topic of manufacturing and supply chain flexibility (MSCF), assess their level of maturity in relation to each other, identify the emerging ones and reflect on how they can inform each other, and second, to develop a conceptual model of MSCF that links different themes connect and highlight future research opportunities. The study builds on a sample of 222 articles published from 1996 to 2018 in international, peer-reviewed journals. The analysis of the sample involves two complementary approaches: the co-word technique to identify the thematic clusters as well as their relative standing and a critical reflection on the papers to explain the intellectual content of these thematic clusters. The results of the co-word analysis show that MSCF is a dynamic topic with a rich and complex structure that comprises five thematic clusters. The value chain, capability and volatility clusters showed research topics that were taking a central role in the discussion on MSCF but were not mature yet. The SC purchasing practices and SC planning clusters involved work that was more focused and could be considered more mature. These clusters were then integrated in a framework that built on the competence–capability perspective and identified the major structural and infrastructural elements of MSCF as well as its antecedents and consequences. This paper proposes an integrative framework helping managers keep track the various decisions they need to make to increase flexibility from the viewpoint of the entire value chain