2,181 research outputs found
Measuring third party tracker power across web and mobile
Third-party networks collect vast amounts of data about users via web sites
and mobile applications. Consolidations among tracker companies can
significantly increase their individual tracking capabilities, prompting
scrutiny by competition regulators. Traditional measures of market share, based
on revenue or sales, fail to represent the tracking capability of a tracker,
especially if it spans both web and mobile. This paper proposes a new approach
to measure the concentration of tracking capability, based on the reach of a
tracker on popular websites and apps. Our results reveal that tracker
prominence and parent-subsidiary relationships have significant impact on
accurately measuring concentration
On the Microlensing Optical Depth of the Galactic Bar
The microlensing probability (optical depth ) toward the Galactic
center carries information about the mass distribution of the Galactic
bulge/bar, so can be used to constrain the very uncertain shape parameters of
the bar. We find depends on the bar mass, radial profile, angle, axis
scale lengths and boxyness by a few simple analytical formulae, which shows:
(1) is proportional to the mass of the bar, . (2) falls along
the minor axis with a strong gradient. (3) An oblate bulge can have more
optical depth than a triaxial bar if the bar angle degress. (4)
is the largest if the angle and the axis ratio
conspires so that . (5) At a fixed field on the minor axis
but away from the center, boxy bars with a flat density profile tend to give a
larger optical depth than ellipsoidal bars with a steep profile. (6) Main
sequence sources should have a significantly lower (20-50\% lower) optical
depth than red clump giants if main sequence stars are not observed as deep as
the bright clump giants.
An application to four COBE-constrained models (Dwek et al. 1994) shows most
models produce optical depth lower than MACHO and OGLE observed
values even with both a massive bar and a full
disk. The high argues for a massive () boxy
bar with and deg and with a flat radial
profile up to corotation.Comment: 28 pages including 6 postscript figures in uuencoded compressed tar
file. Submitted to MNRA
Third Party Tracking in the Mobile Ecosystem
Third party tracking allows companies to identify users and track their
behaviour across multiple digital services. This paper presents an empirical
study of the prevalence of third-party trackers on 959,000 apps from the US and
UK Google Play stores. We find that most apps contain third party tracking, and
the distribution of trackers is long-tailed with several highly dominant
trackers accounting for a large portion of the coverage. The extent of tracking
also differs between categories of apps; in particular, news apps and apps
targeted at children appear to be amongst the worst in terms of the number of
third party trackers associated with them. Third party tracking is also
revealed to be a highly trans-national phenomenon, with many trackers operating
in jurisdictions outside the EU. Based on these findings, we draw out some
significant legal compliance challenges facing the tracking industry.Comment: Corrected missing company info (Linkedin owned by Microsoft). Figures
for Microsoft and Linkedin re-calculated and added to Table
Candidate Gene Discovery for Retained Testicles in Dogs
Cryptorchidism, or retained testicles, is one of the most common congenital developmental defects in purebred dogs. DNA markers called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are being used to investigate the associations between 21 candidate genes and cryptorchidism in Siberian huskies. We found the genes COL2A1, HOXA10, INSL3 and TIMP1 tended to be associated with cryptorchidism in Siberian huskies. The results will help to find the causative mutations in the future and will be useful in dog breeding programs to reduce the incidence of cryptorchidism
How can we design privacy-friendly apps for children? Using a research through design process to understand developers' needs and challenges
Mobile apps used by children often make use of harmful techniques, such as data tracking and targeted advertising. Previous research has suggested that developers face several systemic challenges in designing apps that prioritise children's best interests. To understand how developers can be better supported, we used a Research through Design (RtD) method to explore what the future of privacy-friendly app development could look like. We performed an elicitation study with 20 children's app developers to understand their needs and requirements. We found a number of specific technical requirements from the participants about how they would like to be supported, such as having actionable transnational design guidelines and easy-to-use development libraries. However, participants were reluctant to adopt these design ideas in their development practices due to perceived financial risks associated with increased privacy in apps. To overcome this critical gap, participants formulated socio-technical requirements that extend to other stakeholders in the mobile industry, including parents and marketplaces. Our findings provide important immediate and long-term design opportunities for the HCI community, and indicate that support for changing app developers' practices must be designed in the context of their relationship with other stakeholders
How Should We Support Designing Privacy-Friendly Apps for Children? Using a Research through Design Process to Understand Developers' Needs and Challenges
Mobile apps used by children often make use of harmful techniques, such as
data tracking and targeted advertising. Previous research has suggested that
developers face several systemic challenges in designing apps that prioritise
children's best interests. To understand how developers can be better
supported, we used a Research through Design (RtD) method to explore what the
future of privacy-friendly app development could look like. We performed an
elicitation study with 20 children's app developers to understand their needs
and requirements. We found a number of specific technical requirements from the
participants about how they would like to be supported, such as having
actionable transnational design guidelines and easy-to-use development
libraries. However, participants were reluctant to adopt these design ideas in
their development practices due to perceived financial risks associated with
increased privacy in apps. To overcome this critical gap, participants
formulated socio-technical requirements that extend to other stakeholders in
the mobile industry, including parents and marketplaces. Our findings provide
important immediate and long-term design opportunities for the HCI community,
and indicate that support for changing app developers' practices must be
designed in the context of their relationship with other stakeholders.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figure
Detection and Characterization of Genes for Meat Quality in Pigs using Combined Line-cross and Half-sib Analysis
Data from an F2 cross between the Berkshire and Yorkshire breeds was used to detect and characterize chromosomal regions (quantitative trait loci, QTL) that affect growth, composition, and meat quality traits. A new method of analysis was used that combines the power of the line-cross model to detect QTL that differ between the breeds and the half-sib model to detect QTL that segregate within the breeds. The complementary information that is capitalized on in the combined models increased the number of QTL detected and allowed characterization of the detected QTL in terms of their segregation within the original breeds. This provides valuable information for subsequent QTL analyses and marker-assisted breeding schemes
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