Enhancing critical infrastructure resilience through information-sharing: recommendations for European critical infrastructure operators

This paper explores how critical infrastructure (CI) resilience can be improved through effective crisis communication between CI operators and members of the public. Drawing on academic and practice-based research into crisis and risk communication, as well as the results of 31 interviews conducted with key stakeholders from across Europe, the AESOP guidelines are proposed for enhancing the communication and information-sharing strategies of CI operators. These emphasise the importance of integrating both traditional and digital media into a multi-channel communication strategy that facilitates dialogue between CI operators and key stakeholders including emergency management organisations and representatives of local communities. The information-seeking behaviours of citizens should be evaluated by these organisations in order to ensure that this messaging reaches key demographics in disaster-vulnerable areas. This paper concludes by examining how post-disaster learning should be incorporated into a flexible framework for crisis and risk communication that manages public expectations about the time needed to restore services in the aftermath of large-scale incidents

A possible sub-kiloparsec dual AGN buried behind the galaxy curtain

Although thousands of galaxy mergers are known, only a handful of sub-kiloparsec-scale supermassive black hole (SMBH) pairs have been confirmed so far, leaving a huge gap between the observed and predicted numbers of such objects. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey optical spectrum and of near-infrared (NIR) diffraction limited imaging of SDSS J1431+4358. This object is a local radio-quiet type 2 active galactic nucleus (AGN) previously selected as a double AGN candidate on the basis of the double-peaked [OIII] emission line. The NIR adaptive optics-assisted observations were obtained at the Large Binocular Telescope with the LUCI+FLAO camera. We found that most of the prominent optical emission lines are characterized by a double-peaked profile, mainly produced by AGN photoionization. Our spectroscopical analysis disfavors the hypothesis that the double-peaked emission lines in the source are the signatures of outflow kinematics, leaving open the possibility that we are detecting either the rotation of a single narrow-line region or the presence of two SMBHs orbiting around a common central potential. The latter scenario is further supported by the high-spatial resolution NIR imaging: After subtracting the dominant contribution of the stellar bulge component in the host galaxy, we detect two faint nuclear sources at r < 0.5 kpc projected separation. Interestingly, the two sources have a position angle consistent with that defined by the two regions where the [OIII] double peaks most likely originate. Aside from the discovery of a promising sub-kiloparsec scale dual AGN, our analysis shows the importance of an appropriate host galaxy subtraction in order to achieve a reliable estimate of the incidence of dual AGNs at small projected separations

Unveiling Sub-Pc supermassive black hole binary candidates in active galactic nuclei

The elusive supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are thought to be the penultimate stage of galaxy mergers, preceding a final coalescence phase. SMBHBs are sources of continuous gravitational waves, possibly detectable by pulsar timing arrays; the identification of candidates could help in performing targeted gravitational wave searches. Due to SMBHBs\u2019 origin in the innermost parts of active galactic nuclei (AGN), X-rays are a promising tool for unveiling their presence, by means of either double Fe K\u3b1 emission lines or periodicity in their light curve. Here we report on a new method for selecting SMBHBs by means of the presence of a periodic signal in their Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) 105 month light curves. Our technique is based on Fisher\u2019s exact g-test and takes into account the possible presence of colored noise. Among the 553 AGN selected for our investigation, only the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy Mrk 915 emerges as a candidate SMBHB; from subsequent analysis of its light curve we find a period P0 = 35 \ub1 2 months, and the null hypothesis is rejected at the 3.7\u3c3 confidence level. We also present a detailed analysis of the BAT light curve of the only previously X-ray-selected binary candidate source in the literature, the Seyfert 2 galaxy MCG+11-11-032. We find P0 = 26.3 \ub1 0.6 months, consistent with the one inferred from previously reported double Fe K\u3b1 emission lines

‘Privacy does not interest me’. A comparative analysis of photo sharing on Instagram and Blipfoto

Photo sharing online has become immensely popular and is a central aspect of modern visual culture. Yet it creates a number of privacy issues, both in relation to other individuals and corporate surveillance. The purpose of this study was to investigate users’ understanding of privacy issues in photo sharing, based on a comparative study of two contrasting platforms: Instagram and Blipfoto. The study combined netnography and in-depth interviewing. It was found that Instagram users had a greater awareness of how the platform might use their data, but saw this loss of privacy as inevitable in return for a free service. Blipfoto users were more trusting of what they experienced as a very community minded platform. Any concerns felt by both groups of users were out-weighed by the sense that photo sharing was highly meaningful and their fascination with watching and being watched. Both groups main approach to privacy was through restricting certain types of image of people and not revealing the location of certain personal spaces. Notions of privacy thus remained primarily personal and ignored corporate dataveillance

Regional labour market mobility. A network analysis of inter-firm relatedness

Labour market rigidity is known to hamper the proper adjustment of an economy, thus making it less resilient to shocks. This paper investigates the characteristics and resilience of the regional labour flow network in Veneto, a region famous for its industrial districts and the expertise of its workforce. A unique database of inter-firm worker mobility is used and the made-in-Italy relatedness to other industries is quantified. Descriptive results suggest that permanent-contract workers are more mobile within-sector than fixed-term contractors. The latter are more mobile across sectors. A finer disaggregation of the made-in-Italy industries shows that textile, food and woodwork are highly related to leisure-retail, logistics-wholesale and agriculture. These results can orient policy-making in getting faster labour reallocation. Network analysis establishes a number of stylised facts about labour flow networks, in particular, a hierarchical organisation of flows and a preference for workers to move from low-connected to high-connected firms and vice-versa, i.e. disassortativity. Unlike previous research, this paper identifies clusters of a non-spatial nature, that is, based on the intensity of labour flows. Regression analysis shows that labour mobility, both in and out, is beneficial for firms. However, being located inside labour clusters negatively affects firm performance. Interestingly, when these clusters include MNEs, the firm benefits. These results combined suggest that variety of connections prevails over standardisation

Science case study and scientific simulations for the enhanced X-ray Timing Polarimetry mission, eXTP

The X-ray astronomy mission eXTP (enhanced X-ray Timing Polarimetry) is designed to study matter under extreme conditions of density, gravity and magnetism. Primary goals are the determination of the equation of state (EoS) of matter at supranuclear density, the physics in extremely strong magnetic fields, the study of accretion in strong-field gravity (SFG) regime. Primary targets include isolated and binary neutron stars, strong magneticfield systems like magnetars, and stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. In this paper we report about key observations and simulations with eXTP on the primary objectives involving accretion under SFG regimes and determination of NS-Eo

Quasar spectral variability from the XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue

Context. X-ray spectral variability analyses of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) with moderate luminosities and redshifts typically show a softer when brighter behaviour. Such trend has been rarely investigated for high-luminosity AGNs ($L_bolgtrsim 10^44$ erg/s), nor for a wider redshift range (e.g., $0lesssim zlesssim 5$). Aims. We present an analysis of the spectral variability based on a large sample of 2,700 quasars, measured at several different epochs, extracted from the fifth release of the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue. Methods. We quantify the spectral variability through the parameter $eta$ defined as the ratio between the change in the photon index $Gamma$ and the corresponding logarithmic flux variation, $eta=-DeltaGamma/Deltalog F_X$. Results. Our analysis confirms a softer when brighter behaviour also for our sample, extending to high luminosity and redshift the general trend previously found. We estimate an ensemble value of the spectral variability parameter $eta=-0.69pm0.03$. We do not find dependence of $eta$ on redshift, X-ray luminosity, black hole mass, Eddington ratio. A subsample of radio-loud sources shows a smaller spectral variability parameter. There is also some change with the X-ray flux, with smaller $eta$ (in absolute value) for brighter sources. We also find significant correlations for a few individual sources, indicating more negative values for some sources

Ensemble spectral variability study of Active Galactic Nuclei from the XMM-Newton serendipitous source catalogue

The variability of the X-Ray spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) usually includes a change of the spectral slope. This has been investigated for a small sample of local AGNs by Sobolewska and Papadakis [1], who found that slope variations are well correlated with flux variations, and that the spectra are typically steeper in the bright phase (softer when brighter behaviour). Not much information is available for the spectral variability of high-luminosity AGNs and quasars. In order to investigate this phenomenon, we use data from the XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue, Data Release 5, which contains X- Ray observations for a large number of active galactic nuclei in a wide luminosity and redshift range, for several different epochs. This allows to perform an ensemble analysis of the spectral variability for a large sample of quasars. We quantify the spectral variability through the spectral variability parameter β, defined by Trevese and Vagnetti [2] as the ratio between the change in spectral slope and the corresponding logarithmic flux variation. We find that the spectral variability of quasars has a softer when brighter behaviour, similarly to local AGNs