Synesthesia: Detecting Screen Content via Remote Acoustic Side Channels

We show that subtle acoustic noises emanating from within computer screens can be used to detect the content displayed on the screens. This sound can be picked up by ordinary microphones built into webcams or screens, and is inadvertently transmitted to other parties, e.g., during a videoconference call or archived recordings. It can also be recorded by a smartphone or "smart speaker" placed on a desk next to the screen, or from as far as 10 meters away using a parabolic microphone. Empirically demonstrating various attack scenarios, we show how this channel can be used for real-time detection of on-screen text, or users' input into on-screen virtual keyboards. We also demonstrate how an attacker can analyze the audio received during video call (e.g., on Google Hangout) to infer whether the other side is browsing the web in lieu of watching the video call, and which web site is displayed on their screen

Corporations and the 99%: Team Production Revisited

This Article explores the legal manifestation of the interaction between the general public and the public corporation. Revisiting team production analysis, this Article redefines the corporate team and argues that while several constituencies indeed form part of the corporate team, others are exogenous to the corporate enterprise. Employees, suppliers and financiers contribute together to the common corporate enterprise, enjoying a long-term relational contract with the corporation, while retail consumers contract with the corporation at arm’s length, and other people living alongside the corporation do not contract with it at all. Under this organizational model, the general public may participate in the team forming the corporate enterprise by providing public financing. Indeed, corporate law was developed to protect public investors. However, evidence shows that most of the listed equity is no longer held by the general public directly; the new shareholders are institutional investors. This Article analyzes the impact of institutionalization on the interaction of corporations with the general public, outlining spheres of potential divergence between institutional and retail investors and raising the timely concern for the agency costs embedded in the relationship between the general public and institutional investors. First, not all institutional investors are investing on behalf of the public. Shareholder empowerment platforms are frequently mobilized by intermediaries representing only the wealthiest 1%. Second, when shareholders are mostly institutional investors, the likelihood of distributional conflicts between various stakeholder groups is higher because the institutional thought and decision-making patterns do not match those of the general public. The objectives of institutional investors are significantly narrower than, and potentially divergent from, those of the general public. Third, the technology used for trading by institutional investors, algorithmic trading, potentially imposes externalities on retail investors, and ultimately widens the gap between corporations and the general public. It may often be the case that the institutional interests align with those of the general public, but the law does not necessitate it. This Article further discusses converse trends towards convergence, including socially responsible investments and impact investments, corporate social responsibility, sustainability reporting, and customer voice. This Article ultimately suggests policy implications. When shareholders’ interests are not necessarily aligned with those of the general public, we have reason to revisit the axiom of shareholder value as the underlying purpose of corporations, the boundaries of fiduciary duty, and the limited platform and audience for sustainability reporting

The Utility of Finance

Public Utilities Commissions (PUCs) are charged with regulating a public utility’s rates at levels that serve the public’s interest while allowing the utility’s investors to earn a rate commensurate with that expected by businesses facing similar risks. Although the process of adjusting rates for risk is a staple of modern finance, we know surprisingly little about how well accomplish their regulatory mandate when judged against the benchmarks of financial economics. This article analyzes a dozen years’ worth of gas and electric rate-setting decisions from PUCs in the United States and Canada, demonstrating empirically that allowed returns on equity (ROE) diverge significantly and systematically from the predictions of accepted asset pricing methodologies in finance. Our analysis suggests that current regulatory practice more plausibly reflects an amalgam of other non-finance desiderata, including political goals, incentive provision, and regulatory capture. For example, elected PUCs award significantly lower ROEs than appointed ones. We nevertheless conjecture that the divergence of observed regulatory behavior from asset-pricing fundamentals may be due (in part) to a lack of financial valuation expertise among regulators. To test this conjecture, we study a unique field experiment that exposed commissioners and their staffs to immersion training in finance. We find evidence that treated PUCs began to issue ROE rulings that were (moderately) more aligned with standard asset pricing theory than those of untreated placebo groups. Our results suggest that it is possible to train non-expert legal and regulatory decision-makers to exhibit greater fidelity to principles of financial economics

Арагонитовые и кальцитовые жеоды из пещеры Ботовская

В статье описываются необычные вторичные минеральные образования, обнаруженные в Ботовской пещере в Восточной Сибири, которые представляют собой жеоды, выполненные арагонитом, а в отдельных случаях – кальцитом. Приведены два предположения о формирование жеод: за счет стекающих растворов, размывающих рыхлые пещерные отложения и заполняющих образовавшиеся пустоты, в которых затем происходила кристаллизация минералов, и за счет растворения центрального тела сформированных ранее конкреций и последующего отложения арагонита и кальцита в получившейся полости. Впоследствии жеоды были вскрыты при выносе из пещеры большого объема осадков водными потоками. Вследствие особенностей своей морфологии и генезиса данные образования могут рассматриваться как новый тип спелеотем.У статті описуються незвичайні вторинні мінеральні утворення, виявлені у Ботовской печері у Східному Сибіру, якими є жеоди, виповнені арагонітом, а в окремих випадках - кальцитом. Наведені два припущення про формування жеод: за рахунок стікаючих розчинів, що розмивають пухкі печерні відклади і заповнюють порожнини, що утворилися, в яких потім відбувалася кристалізація мінералів, і за рахунок розчинення центрального тіла сформованих раніше конкрецій і подальшого відкладення арагоніту і кальциту у порожнини, що утворилися. Згодом жеоди були розкриті при винесенні з печери великого об'єму відкладень водними потоками. Внаслідок особливостей своєї морфології і генезису ці утворення можуть розглядатися як новий тип спелеотем.The article describes unusual secondary mineral formation found in Botovskaya Cave in Eastern Siberia, which are geodes, lined byaragonite and, in some cases, by calcite. Two assumptions of the geode formation are put forward: 1) at the expense of draining solutions that erode loose sediments and fill formed cavities, where then mineral crystallization occurs; 2) at the expense of dissolution of the central body of concretions formed earlier, followed by precipitation of aragonite and calcite in the cavity formed. Later on, the geodes were uncovered during erosion of large volumes of sediments by water flows. Due to peculiar features of their morphology and genesis, these formations can be regarded as a new type of speleothems

Energia de polarização de sistemas orgânicos desordenados

Orientador: Prof. Dr. José Arruda de Oliveira FreireTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Exatas, Curso de Pós-Graduação em Física. Defesa: Curitiba, 26/02/2014Inclui referências : f. 75-78Resumo: Nós adaptamos o método de Hückel Estendido para um sistema molecular interagente e usamos essa aproximação para calcular a afinidade eletrônica e o potencial de ionização de um dímero de benzeno. Nós restringimos a carga adicionada a uma das moléculas e argumentamos que a energia do dímero calculada dessa maneira é a energia relevante em qualquer expressão de taxa de hopping termicamente ativado. A afinidade eletrônica e o potencial de ionização do dímero diferem da quantidade correspondente para a molécula isolada cuja diferença é chamada de energia de polarização. A energia de polarização normalmente estabiliza o ânion e isso é particularmente relevante para o benzeno, dado que o ânion isolado é instável com respeito ao desprendimento de carga. N'os encontramos que o dímero de benzeno aniônico é estável somente para certas conformações, sugerindo que a estabilização de um ânion de benzeno num ambiente amorfo é muito improvável. O modesto custo computacional do método faz com que seja uma alternativa viável para calcular a energia de moléculas carregadas em filmes moleculares amorfos, uma questão central no problema do transporte de cargas em eletrônica orgânica. palavras chave: Energia de Polarização, Método de Hückel Estendido, OligoacenosAbstract: We adapted Hoffmann's extended Hückel method to an interacting molecular system and use this approach to compute the electron affinity and ionization potential of benzene dimers. We restrict the added charge to one of the molecules and argue that the dimer energy computed in this manner is the relevant energy in any meaningful thermally activated hopping rate expression. The dimer electron affinity and ionization potential differs from the isolated molecule corresponding quantity by what is called polarization energy. The polarization energy normally stabilizes the anion and this is particularly relevant for benzene, given that its isolated anion is unstable with respect to charge detachment. We found that the anionic benzene dimer is only stabilized in certain conformations, suggesting that the stabilization of a benzene anion in an amorphous environment is very unlikely. The modest computational cost of the method makes it a viable alternative to compute the energy of charged molecules in amorphous molecular films, a central issue in the problem of charge transport in organic electronics