CONFU: Configuration Fuzzing Testing Framework for Software Vulnerability Detection

Many software security vulnerabilities only reveal themselves under certain conditions, i.e., particular configurations and inputs together with a certain runtime environment. One approach to detecting these vulnerabilities is fuzz testing that feeds randomly generated inputs to the software and witnesses its failures. However, typical fuzz testing makes no guarantees regarding the syntactic and semantic validity of the input, or of how much of the input space will be explored. To address these problems, we present a new testing methodology called Configuration Fuzzing. Configuration Fuzzing is a technique whereby the configuration of the running application is mutated at certain execution points, in order to check for vulnerabilities that only arise in certain conditions. As the application runs in the deployment environment, this testing technique continuously fuzzes the configuration and checks "security invariants'' that, if violated, indicate a vulnerability. We discuss the approach and introduce a prototype framework called ConFu (CONfiguration FUzzing testing framework) implementation. We also present the results of case studies that demonstrate the approach's feasibility and evaluate its performance

Elizabeth P. Simpson: Menu for Success

This biography of Elizabeth Parkinson Simpson was written because of her accomplishments in a generation that coincides with the development of the University of New Mexico. She was Chairperson of the Home Economics Department at the University of New Mexico from 1918 until 1952 when she retired. Her imprint on the young women who were trained in her Home Economics Department will never be forgotten, nor will her contributions to the growth of the state of New Mexico. Teachers trained in her field returned to their homes throughout the state to pass on that training to others.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/archives_documents/1002/thumbnail.jp

UNM\u27s First Dean of Women: Lena C. Clauve

This biography of Lena C. Clauve (pronounced clove as in the spice) was initiated as a segment of a project suggested by Betty Kelley, a close personal friend and colleague at APS, who is interested in history and research of all types. The initial idea was to interview retired women who had been in the work world during a time when most women stayed in the home, raising children. The project was designed to research the reasons for their working outside the home, and the influences in their lives that brought it about.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/archives_documents/1003/thumbnail.jp

Cloud cover estimation: Use of GOES imagery in development of cloud cover data base for insolation assessment

The potential of using digital satellite data to establish a cloud cover data base for the United States, one that would provide detailed information on the temporal and spatial variability of cloud development are studied. Key elements include: (1) interfacing GOES data from the University of Wisconsin Meteorological Data Facility with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's VICAR image processing system and IBIS geographic information system; (2) creation of a registered multitemporal GOES data base; (3) development of a simple normalization model to compensate for sun angle; (4) creation of a variable size georeference grid that provides detailed cloud information in selected areas and summarized information in other areas; and (5) development of a cloud/shadow model which details the percentage of each grid cell that is cloud and shadow covered, and the percentage of cloud or shadow opacity. In addition, comparison of model calculations of insolation with measured values at selected test sites was accomplished, as well as development of preliminary requirements for a large scale data base of cloud cover statistics

Cloud cover typing from environmental satellite imagery. Discriminating cloud structure with Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT)

The use of two dimensional Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) subjected to pattern recognition technology for the identification and classification of low altitude stratus cloud structure from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery was examined. The development of a scene independent pattern recognition methodology, unconstrained by conventional cloud morphological classifications was emphasized. A technique for extracting cloud shape, direction, and size attributes from GOES visual imagery was developed. These attributes were combined with two statistical attributes (cloud mean brightness, cloud standard deviation), and interrogated using unsupervised clustering amd maximum likelihood classification techniques. Results indicate that: (1) the key cloud discrimination attributes are mean brightness, direction, shape, and minimum size; (2) cloud structure can be differentiated at given pixel scales; (3) cloud type may be identifiable at coarser scales; (4) there are positive indications of scene independence which would permit development of a cloud signature bank; (5) edge enhancement of GOES imagery does not appreciably improve cloud classification over the use of raw data; and (6) the GOES imagery must be apodized before generation of FFTs

Urban waterscapes as products, media and symbols of change – the re-invention of the Ruhr

Urban waterscapes are today a key element of revitalization strategies as locations for highscale office and housing estates as well as tourism and leisure amenities. Their renaissance is not only related to economic transformations; it also goes hand in hand with the re-establishment of urban waterscapes as important parts of the urban imagery and identity after years of neglect and ecologic devastation. We argue that new urban waterscapes have been and are being constructed as emblematic places for successful urban (re)development, and illustrate this argument with the case of the Ruhr Area in Germany. For several years, this old-industrial region has undertaken serious efforts to re-invent itself after having lost its former economic base and importance. The different dimensions of structural change are illustrated, possibly even explained by the new meaning and relevance of land- and waterscapes and by the way they are restored, re-interpreted and rebuilt. New waters can be considered as products of structural change, media of re-invention and symbols for regional advancement. Our five case studies show the range and variety of water- and landscape planning in the area. We aim to show that water was and still is part of the regional cultural landscape that is highly coined and designed according to its societal uses. Waterscapes are planned according to regional development and planning goals, not only for economic reasons, but also in recognition of attractive waters functioning as key carriers of regional identity

Mobilising situated local knowledge for participatory urban planning through storytelling

Participatory urban planning does not take place outside of social systems of privilege and discrimination; likewise, the negotiation of knowledge claims in planning processes is embedded in social relations defined by “gender,” “race,” and “class.” In this article, we argue that positionalities play out in the social construction of knowledge in participatory planning and that, consequently, a certain type of knowledge—typically represented by well-educated and resourceful residential groups—is privileged over other forms of everyday knowledge. We present storytelling as an inclusive approach to co-producing knowledge and reflecting on the extent to which the findings can be applied to participatory urban planning. This article is based on a three-year inter- and transdisciplinary research project based on real-world laboratories in two German neighbourhoods. Regarding feminist geographies, we first explore the role of power, positionality, and situated knowledge in shaping participatory planning, both theoretically and empirically. We outline the extent to which the methodological framework and the socio-spatial setting have an impact on the co-production of knowledge. We present insights from two storytelling interventions and reflect on the possibilities and limits of narrative knowledge production for participatory urban planning

Mobilising Situated Local Knowledge for Participatory Urban Planning Through Storytelling

Participatory urban planning does not take place outside of social systems of privilege and discrimination; likewise, the negotiation of knowledge claims in planning processes is embedded in social relations defined by "gender," "race," and "class." In this article, we argue that positionalities play out in the social construction of knowledge in participatory planning and that, consequently, a certain type of knowledge - typically represented by well-educated and resourceful residential groups - is privileged over other forms of everyday knowledge. We present storytelling as an inclusive approach to co-producing knowledge and reflecting on the extent to which the findings can be applied to participatory urban planning. This article is based on a three-year inter- and transdisciplinary research project based on real-world laboratories in two German neighbourhoods. Regarding feminist geographies, we first explore the role of power, positionality, and situated knowledge in shaping participatory planning, both theoretically and empirically. We outline the extent to which the methodological framework and the socio-spatial setting have an impact on the co-production of knowledge. We present insights from two storytelling interventions and reflect on the possibilities and limits of narrative knowledge production for participatory urban planning

Identity, Instability, and Investors. An Empirical Investigation of the Home Bias

In this paper, we present novel data from the German-speaking area on 13,422 venture capital investments between 1999 and 2019, and document a novel and yet unexplained contributor to investors’ home bias. We propose a new measure of regional identity based on a recent vehicle license plate liberalization in Germany, and leverage on a unique dataset of historical borders to show how regional identity is formed. We use an instrumental strategy to establish a causal link between historical political instability, regional identity, and the home bias. Our results indicate that a common regional identity is highly relevant for investment decisions