Web development evolution: the assimilation of web engineering security

In today’s e-commerce environment, information is an incredibly valuable asset. Surveys indicate that companies are suffering staggering financial losses due to web security issues. Analyzing the underlying causes of these security breaches shows that a significant proportion of them are caused by straightforward design errors in systems and not by failures in security mechanisms. There is significant research into security mechanisms but there is little research into the integration of these into software design processes, even those processes specifically designed for Web Engineering. Security should be designed into the application development process upfront through an independent flexible methodology that contains customizable components

Free the sheep: Improvised song and performance in and around a minecraft community

Recent work around the use of virtual world video games in educational contexts has conceptualised literacies as communal processes, whilst considering complex notions of collaboration through participants' multiplicity of presence in hybrid virtual / physical locations. However, further research is necessary in order to help us understand how the complex interactions afforded by such spaces influence - and are influenced by - children's social relationships. This article draws upon data from a year-long ethnographic study, investigating a group of ten and eleven year old children's engagement with the video game 'Minecraft' as they collaborate to build a 'virtual community'. With a particular focus on the children's improvised singing and use of song during the club, I examine how their creative practices - drawing on a wide range of self-selected resources, played out both in and out of the virtual world - help to fundamentally shape the nature of the space around them. Furthermore, through examination of one particular performance, I demonstrate the importance of ensuring that such details are not written out of accounts of children interactions around technology, if we are to understand the true potential of such environments

Resonant Absorption as Mode Conversion? II. Temporal Ray Bundle

A fast-wave pulse in a simple, cold, inhomogeneous MHD model plasma is constructed by Fourier superposition over frequency of harmonic waves that are singular at their respective Alfven resonances. The pulse partially reflects before reaching the resonance layer, but also partially tunnels through to it to mode convert to an Alfven wave. The exact absorption/conversion coefficient for the pulse is shown to be given precisely by a function of transverse wavenumber tabulated in Paper I of this sequence, and to be independent of frequency and pulse width.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted (15 Nov 2010) by Solar Physics. Ancillary file (animation) attache

Panning for gold: designing pedagogically-inspired learning nuggets

Tools to support teachers and learning technologists in the creation of effective learning designs are currently in their infancy. This paper describes a metadata model, devised to assist in the conception and design of new learning activities, that has been developed, used and evaluated over a period of three years. The online tool that embodies this model was not originally intended to produce runtime executable code such as IMS-LD, but rather focussed on assisting teachers in the thought processes involved in selecting appropriate methods, tools, student activities and assessments to suit the required learning objectives. Subsequently, we have modified the RELOAD editor such that the output from our tool can be translated into IMS-LD. The contribution of this paper is the comparison of our data model with that of IMS-LD, and the analysis of how each can inform the other

Outcomes for children of shorter court decision-making processes:A follow-up study of the Tri-borough care proceedings pilot

Context: Long-standing concerns about unnecessary delay in care proceedings led to major reforms in 2013-14, intended to reduce the normal duration to 26 weeks. Prior to those national changes, the Tri-borough authorities in London (Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea) launched a pilot project to try to hit the 26 week target. It ran from April 2012 to March 2013. The project was evaluated by a team from the CRCF. They were subsequently commissioned to undertake a follow-up study to track and evaluate the longer-term outcomes for the children. Aims: The original evaluation compared the timings and outcomes of care proceedings in the pre-pilot year (2011-12) and the pilot year (2012-13). This gives a combined database of 180 cases (256 children), and a unique opportunity to track and compare longer-term progress and outcomes for the children. The follow-up study aimed to assess whether or not delay had shifted to the post-court stage, and whether the new regime led to different long-term outcomes. The research tracked what had happened to the children in the two years after their proceedings ended. It measured the time to reach their planned permanent placement, whether placements endure (at home, kinship care or foster care), and the children’s well-being. Methods: There was a file survey to track the progress of all the children who had been involved in care proceedings in the pre-pilot and pilot years. There was also a questionnaire for parents and carers of the children, to get their views on the child’s progress and the support they received, and interviews with social workers in the Tri-borough authorities on how they perceived the new approach to court proceedings to be working, four years on. Findings: The original evaluation found that the Tri-borough pilot succeeded in its key aim of reducing the length of care proceedings. The median duration of care proceedings was 27 weeks compared to 49 weeks the year before, a reduction of 45%. The pattern of final orders was broadly the same for cases in the pilot year as in the year before, suggesting that the drive to speed up proceedings does not result in significantly different court outcomes. The follow up study had four main findings. First, reducing the duration of care proceedings did not mean that more children were left waiting for a permanent placement at the end of the proceedings. On the contrary, a slightly higher proportion of children in the pilot year were already in their planned permanent placement at the end of the proceedings (65% compared to 60% the year before). Second, for those who did need to move to a permanent placement afterwards, the focus on shorter care proceedings did not lead to extra delay here. In fact, the average duration fell from 30 weeks to 14, a reduction of over 50%. Third, the incidence of ‘serious problem indicators’ (e.g. breakdowns in permanent placements, renewed child protection concerns) declined for children from the pilot cohort compared to the pre-pilot cohort. This suggests that quicker decision-making processes do not necessarily lead to less stable placements for children. Rather, the focus on good decision-making can lead to more secure outcomes. And fourth, shorter care proceedings did not result in more children living away from their families. The most frequent type of final placement for children in both cohorts was with their parent(s) followed by placements with relatives or friends. Impact: The original evaluation was widely quoted and circulated, because it showed that the 26 week target could be achieved without compromising justice and thoroughness, as long as there is proper regard for flexibility. The researchers have continued to disseminate the key messages through publications and presentations at professional and academic conferences. The researchers now aim to disseminate the information about what happens after proceedings

Data analytics approach for optimal qualification testing of electronic components

In electronics manufacturing, required quality of electronic components and parts is ensured through qualification testing using standards and user-defined requirements. The challenge for the industry is that product qualification testing is time-consuming and comes at a substantial cost. The work reported with this paper focus on the development and demonstration of a novel approach that can support “smart qualification testing” by using data analytics and data-driven prognostics modelling. Data analytics approach is developed and applied to historical qualification test datasets for an electronic module (Device under Test, DUT). The qualification spec involves a series of sequentially performed electrical and functional parameter tests on the DUTs. Data analytics is used to identify the tests that are sensitive to pending failure as well as to cross-evaluate the similarity in measurements between all tests, thus generating also knowledge on potentially redundant tests. The capability of data-driven prognostics modelling, using machine learning techniques and available historical qualification datasets, is also investigated. The results obtained from the study showed that predictive models developed from the identified so-called “sensitive to pending failure” tests feature superior performance compared with conventional, as measured, use of the test data. This work is both novel and original because at present, to the best knowledge of the authors, no similar predictive analytics methodology for qualification test time reduction (respectively cost reduction) is used in the electronics industry