1,079 research outputs found
State of the art 2015: a literature review of social media intelligence capabilities for counter-terrorism
Overview
This paper is a review of how information and insight can be drawn from open social media sources. It focuses on the specific research techniques that have emerged, the capabilities they provide, the possible insights they offer, and the ethical and legal questions they raise. These techniques are considered relevant and valuable in so far as they can help to maintain public safety by preventing terrorism, preparing for it, protecting the public from it and pursuing its perpetrators. The report also considers how far this can be achieved against the backdrop of radically changing technology and public attitudes towards surveillance. This is an updated version of a 2013 report paper on the same subject, State of the Art. Since 2013, there have been significant changes in social media, how it is used by terrorist groups, and the methods being developed to make sense of it.
The paper is structured as follows:
Part 1 is an overview of social media use, focused on how it is used by groups of interest to those involved in counter-terrorism. This includes new sections on trends of social media platforms; and a new section on Islamic State (IS).
Part 2 provides an introduction to the key approaches of social media intelligence (henceforth âSOCMINTâ) for counter-terrorism.
Part 3 sets out a series of SOCMINT techniques. For each technique a series of capabilities and insights are considered, the validity and reliability of the method is considered, and how they might be applied to counter-terrorism work explored.
Part 4 outlines a number of important legal, ethical and practical considerations when undertaking SOCMINT work
Like, share, vote
This report explores the potential for social media to support efforts to get out the vote.
Overview
Across Europe, low voter turnout in European and national elections is a growing concern. Many citizens are disengaged from the political process, threatening the health of our democracies. At the same time, the increasingly prominent role that social media plays in our lives and its function as a new digital public space offers new opportunities to reengage non-voters.
This report explores the potential for social media to support efforts to get out the vote. It lays out which groups need to be the focus of voter mobilisation efforts, and makes the case for using social media campaigning as a core part of our voter mobilisation efforts. The research draws on a series of social media voter mobilisation workshops run by Demos with small third sector organisations in six target countries across Europe, as well as expert interviews, literature review and social media analysis.
Having affirmed the need for and utility of social media voter turnout efforts, Like, Share, Vote establishes key principles and techniques for a successful social media campaign: how to listen to the digital discourse of your audience, how to use quizzes and interactive approaches, how to micro-target specific groups and how to coordinate offline events with online campaigns. This report concludes that, with more of our social and political lives taking place online than ever before, failing to use social media to reinvigorate our democracy would be a real missed opportunity
Connecting knowledge to power: the future of digital democracy in the UK
Since its invention, the internet has been considered a âgame-changerâ when it comes to democracy, with a worldwide network providing the potential to create a truly participatory democracy. This has yet to happen, but numerous individuals and groups are beginning to ask what can be done to marry the internet with representative democracy, including the Speaker of the House of Commons. Here, Chris Waller and Louis Reynolds discuss an exciting new project which seeks to use a wiki approach to crowdsource a submission to the Speakerâs Commission on Digital Democracy
The draft charter of the private and public health sectors of the Republic of South Africa: Health for all, or profits for few?
The central aim of the Department of Healthâs recently released Draft Charter of the Public and Private Health Sectors (CPPHS) is to address the legacy of apartheid regarding access to health care for all South Africans. It commits the public and private sectors to create âa health care system that is coherent, cost effective and quality driven ⊠for the benefit of the entire populationâ and to work together âto improve the scope, accessibility and quality of care at all levelsâ. These are laudable goals and we express our wholehearted support for them. The CPPHS specifies four âkey areasâ of transformation: access to health services, equity in health services, quality of health services, and black economic empowerment (BEE). Among these the first three â access to, equity in, and quality of health care services - are essential (though not sufficient) to meeting the goal of health for all in South Africa. The fourth, however, is problematic
The Draft Charter of the Private and Public Health Sectors of the Republic of South Africa : health for all, or profits for few?
No Abstract. South African Medical Journal Vol. 95(10) 2005: 742-74
Reproductive bud development in pears
Thesis (MScAgric)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Reproductive bud development is the first step of sexual
reproduction of plants and is a major factor determining yield. For consistent yields
in pears, knowledge of the development of the reproductive bud is required.
The development of the reproductive bud with emphasis on the
primordial bourse shoot was studied. The bourse shoot is important because of the
ability of a bourse shoot to become reproductive, which can lead to bourse-overbourse
bearing. The progression of reproductive bud development in 'Forelle' and
'Rosemarie' was studied from primordial bourse shoot initiation until dormancy the
following season. The primordial bourse shoot was initiated in January 2003. The
primordial bourse shoot progressed during dormancy with a plastochron length of 60
days in June. The rate of preformed leaf formation increased rapidly until August
when the plastochron was 5 days. 'Rosemarie's' primordial bourse shoot
development was more advanced at full bloom, which is a possible reason for the
higher bourse-aver-bourse bearing habit of the cultivar. The number of leaves of the
bourse shoot was more than with the 'Forelle', which has a low tendency for bourseover-
bourse bearing. Flower initiation of the terminal bourse shoot bud was 56 and
77 d.a.f.b. for the 'Forelle' and 'Rosemarie', respectively. Initiation was well
correlated with bourse shoot growth cessation. An increase in mitotic activity
occurred during flower differentiation of the terminal bourse bud with a peak of floral
appendage formation during December and January. From February until dormancy
enlargement of the floral parts took place.
The influence of severe dormant pruning and the quality of 2-
year-old wood, on reproductive bud sink strength of 'Packham's Triumph' trees were
investigated. The sink strength of primary growth increased by 40 % for short
bearing units (SBU's) and 140 % for thick bearing units (BU's) as compared to long
bearing units (LBU's) and thin BU's respectively. The increase in primary growth
was due to better fruit set and larger fruit in the SBU's and the thick BU's. Since the
increase in primary growth is less for SBU's compared to thick BU's the conclusion,
which can be made, is that branch diameter influenced sink strength more than branch
length. With increase in branch diameter the size of the xylem transport system
increases more than that of the phloem. The increase in xylem transported metabolites, in particular root derived cytokinin seems to predominantly influence the
magnitude of the sink strength.
The influence of scoring and 6-benzyladenine (BA) application,
during the flower induction phase on 'Doyenne du Cornice' and 'Rosemarie', were
studied. Scoring caused a 50 % increase in fruit number of 'Doyenne du Cornice',
which resulted in a 38 % increase in yield compared to the control. The increase in
fruit number was due to higher percentage reproductive buds and improved bud
quality. For the 'Rosemarie' scoring at the correct time resulted in a 40 % increase in
reproductive buds. Scoring disrupts basipetal transport in the phloem, which results
in the removal of apical dominance and an increase in root derived cytokinin's. More
meristems can respond to inductive conditions and high quality reproductive buds
develop. The combination of BA and scoring, lead to more flowers per inflorescence
in 'Doyenne du Cornice'.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Reproduktiewe knopontwikkeling by die peer
Reproduktiewe knopontwikkeling is die eerste fase van
reproduktiewe voortplanting in plante en is belangrik, want dit bepaal die oesgrootte.
Vir konstante oeste in peerproduksie moet reproduktiewe knopontwikkeling verstaan
word.
Die ontwikkeling van die reproduktiewe knop, meer spesifiek
die primordiale beursloot is bestudeer. Die beursloot is belangrik a.g.v. die beurs-oorbeurs
drawyse. Die ontwikkeling van die reproduktiewe knop van 'Forelle' en
'Rosemarie' is gevolg. Die primordiale beursloot is Januarie 2003 geinisieër en
ontwikkel tydens die boom se dormante fase met 'n plastochron van 60 dae gedurende
Junie. Preformeerde blaarvormingstempo neem toe tot Augustus waar die
plastochron 5 dae is. 'Rosemarie' se primordiale beursloot ontwikkeling was meer
gevorderd teen volblom, met meer beurslootblare reeds teenwoordig. Dit is dalk die
rede vir die hoër tendens van beurs-oor-beurs drag van die kultivar in vergelyking met
'Forelle'. Die terminale beurslootknop is 56 en 77 dae na volblom geĂŻniseer vir
'Forelle' en 'Rosemarie' respektiewelik. Inisiasie was goed gekorreleerd met
beeĂŻndiging van beurslootgroei. Blomdifferensiasie het inisiasie gevolg met 'n
toename in mitotiese aktiwiteit, blomaanhangsel vorming het 'n piek bereik III
Desember en Januarie. Vanaf Februarie tot dormansie het ontwikkeling hoofsaaklik
in vergroting van blomorgane plaasgevind.
Die invloed van strawwe dormante snoei en die kwaliteit van
2-jaar-oue dra-eenhede op sinksterkte van reproduktiewe knoppe van 'Packham's
Triumph' pere is ondersoek tydens die 2002/03 seisoen. Die sinksterkte van primĂȘre
groei het 40 % toegeneem vir kort dra-eenhede en 140 % vir dik dra-eenhede in
vergelyking met lang dra-eenhede en dun dra-eenhede respektiewelik. Die toename
in primĂȘre groei vir kort en dik dra-eenhede kon toegeskryf word aan beter vrugset en
groter vrugte. Omdat die toename in sinksterkte minder is vir kort dra-eenhede in
vergelyking met dik dra-eenhede kan die afleiding gemaak word dat dra-eenheiddikte
sinksterkte meer beïnvloed as dra-eenheidlengte. Met 'n toename in dra-eenheiddikte, neem xileemvaatweefsel meer toe as floeëmvaatweefsel. 'n Toename in xileem
getranslokeerde metaboliete, meer spesifiek wortel vervaardigde sitokiniene
beĂŻnvloed die sinksterkte van die reproduktiewe knoppe.
Die invloed van ringelering (ringsnit deur floeëm sonder bas
verwydering) en 6-bensielaldenien (BA) toediening tydens reproduktiewe
knopinduksie van 'Doyenne du Cornice' en 'Rosemarie' is ondersoek. Ringelering
het 'n 50 % toename in vrugaantal veroorsaak wat die oes met 38 % laat toeneem het
in vergelyking met die kontrole, vir 'Doyenne du Cornice'. Die toename in vrugte was
a.g.v. 'n hoër persentasie reproduktiewe knoppe en toename in blomkwaliteit. By
'Rosemarie' het ringelering 'n 40 % toename in reproduktiewe knoppe bewerkstellig.
Ringelering onderbreek die basipetale vervoer in die floeëm, verwyder dus apikale
dominansie, met die gevolg dat daar 'n toename in wortel geproduseerde sitokiniene
is. Meer meristeme reageer op induktiewe toestande en reproduktiewe knoppe van
hoë kwaliteit vorm. Die kombinasie van ringelering en BA -toediening het meer
blomme per reproduktiewe knop veroorsaak
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