Security awareness and affective feedback:categorical behaviour vs. reported behaviour

A lack of awareness surrounding secure online behaviour can lead to end-users, and their personal details becoming vulnerable to compromise. This paper describes an ongoing research project in the field of usable security, examining the relationship between end-user-security behaviour, and the use of affective feedback to educate end-users. Part of the aforementioned research project considers the link between categorical information users reveal about themselves online, and the information users believe, or report that they have revealed online. The experimental results confirm a disparity between information revealed, and what users think they have revealed, highlighting a deficit in security awareness. Results gained in relation to the affective feedback delivered are mixed, indicating limited short-term impact. Future work seeks to perform a long-term study, with the view that positive behavioural changes may be reflected in the results as end-users become more knowledgeable about security awareness

Inland thinning of the Amundsen Sea sector, West Antarctica

[1] Together with the Pine Island glacier (PIG), the Thwaites (TG) and Smith (SG) glaciers are the principal drainage systems of the Amundsen Sea (AS) sector of Western Antarctica. Here we use satellite radar altimetry and interferometry to show that a rapid thinning of ice has occurred within the fastest flowing sections of all AS outlet glaciers. The pattern of thinning extends to distances greater than 150 km inland. Between 1991 and 2001, the TG and SG thinned by more than 25 and 45 m at their grounding lines, and a total of 154 +/- 16 km(3) of ice (or 0.43 mm of eustatic sea level rise) was lost from the AS sector glaciers to the ocean. We show that the thickness changes may have caused the PIG, TG, and SG to retreat inland by over 8, 4, and 7 km respectively, in line with independent estimates of grounding line migration

The environmental implications of manure use in organic farming systems (OF0161)

This is the final report of Defra project OF0161. A desk study was undertaken (a) to identify the important N flows in three types of organic farming systems (extensive upland, intensive lowland mixed and stockless vegetable systems) in relation to manure use and (b) to determine the effects of changed management practice on these flows. A study of the published literature has highlighted the key stages for nutrient management prior to land spreading. Dietary inputs - amounts of N excreted and the partitioning between urine and faeces is important in determining the fate of N through the farming system. Diet affects this partition, but we were unable to find evidence of differences between organic and non-organic rations. Clearly, a crude N balance (N in feed - N in milk) provides a good guide to risk. Because N removal in milk is a small component, the more intensive systems are likely to generate more N as excreta. Housing - it is estimated that, in the UK, NH3 losses from housing constitute c. 35% of the total NH3 emissions from cattle production systems (compared with 14% from manure storage) and about 20% of total N2O emissions. The limited available information suggests that losses by NH3 emission during housing are larger from slurry based systems than from cattle housed on straw. The converse is true of N2O losses. Solid manure storage - composting offers advantages (namely sterilisation) but also can exacerbate loss of nitrogen as NH3. Losses of up to almost 80% of the total N have been reported. Our analysis of the numerous experiments suggests that the C:N ratio should be >30 at the start of composting to retain N (i.e. to reduce losses to <10%). Loose covering had little effect on retaining nitrogen. NPK are lost in leachate during manure storage (but only represent a true loss if the leachate is not collected for recycling). Slurry storage - losses are predominantly as NH3 and typically 0.05% (winter) - 0.1% (summer) of the total N content per day. A crust would approximately halve losses. Stirring increases volatilisation. Aeration would have similar effects, but may also increase N2O emissions if it produces intermittent aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Covering stores would substantially decrease losses and options range from straw to concrete structures. Effectiveness increases with cost! A simple N model was constructed to calculate the integrated effects of management practices during housing and storage. Our calculations suggested that an all-slurry system (though not permitted under organic regulations) would retain more N than a straw-based system: losses from slurry are greater during housing, less during storage (assuming the slurry lagoon is covered or has a crust and is not regularly stirred), and greater in the field (as ammonia and nitrate in particular): N losses from FYM after spreading are less, especially if composted. The question that inevitably will be asked is ‘do conventionally managed systems provide more of a risk than organic systems?’ There is no straightforward answer. Many of the loss processes from manure will be the same between systems but they will be modified by management and by the intensity of the enterprise. It is this latter point - i.e. the nutrient balance - that will have most impact on any comparison; farms with a large nutrient excess will be more prone to large losses. Thus, generally, organic farms provide less emissions than conventional farming systems involving livestock. The move to more solid-based systems should result in smaller losses of N during housing, but practical measures to reduce losses during storage need to be investigated. The outcome of all management processes is the production of manures that vary widely in composition between farms and often within farms. Our analyses of 14 cattle slurries and 45 cattle manures confirm the wide variations in nutrient contents as affected by many management factors. Generally, NPK values were c. 20-40% less than published values for ‘conventionally’ produced manures (although these mean values were also associated with a wide range of values). This probably reflects the lower intensity of organic production systems

Assessing the impact of affective feedback on end-user security awareness

A lack of awareness regarding online security behaviour can leave users and their devices vulnerable to compromise. This paper highlights potential areas where users may fall victim to online attacks, and reviews existing tools developed to raise users’ awareness of security behaviour. An ongoing research project is described, which provides a combined monitoring solution and affective feedback system, designed to provide affective feedback on automatic detection of risky security behaviour within a web browser. Results gained from the research conclude an affective feedback mechanism in a browser-based environment, can promote general awareness of online security

Friction in metal-on-metal total disc arthroplasty: effect of ball radius

Total Disc Arthroplasty (TDA) can be used to replace a degenerated intervertebral disc in the spine. There are different designs of prosthetic discs, but one of the most common is a ball-and-socket combination. Contact between the bearing surfaces can result in high frictional torque, which can then result in wear and implant loosening. This study was designed to determine the effects of ball radius on friction. Generic models of metal-on-metal TDA were manufactured with ball radii of 10, 12, 14 and 16 mm, with a radial clearance of 0.015 mm. A simulator was used to test each sample in flexion-extension, lateral bending and axial rotation at frequencies of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 and 2 Hz under loads of 50, 600, 1200 and 2000 N, in new born calf serum. Frictional torque was measured and Stribeck curves were plotted to illustrate the lubrication regime in each case. It was observed that implants with a smaller ball radius showed lower friction and showed boundary and mixed lubrication regimes, whereas implants with larger ball radius showed boundary lubrication only. This study suggests designing metal-on-metal TDAs with ball radius of 10 or 12 mm, in order to reduce wear and implant loosening

Status and capabilities of sonic boom simulators

The current status and capabilities of sonic boom simulators which might be used in future studies of the effects of sonic boom on people, animals, or structures is summarized. The list of candidate simulators is based on a literature search which was confined to the United States and Canada. Some of the simulators are fully operational, others could be made operational with a modest investment, and still others would require a major investment. For the sake of the completeness, some simulators which were the subject of a previous review, but which no longer exist, are also included herein

Sound attenuation apparatus

An apparatus is disclosed for reducing acoustic transmission from mechanical or acoustic sources by means of a double wall partition, within which an acoustic pressure field is generated by at least one secondary acoustic source. The secondary acoustic source is advantageously placed within the partition, around its edges, or it may be an integral part of a wall of the partition

Estimating the abundance of clustered and cryptic marine macro-invertebrates in the Galápagos with particular reference to sea cucumbers

Estimating the abundance of marine macro-invertebrates is complicated by a variety of factors: 1) human factors, such as diver efficiency and diver error; and 2) biological factors, such as aggregation of organisms, crypsis, and nocturnal emergence behavior. Diver efficiency varied according to the detectability of an organism causing under-estimation of density by up to 50% in some species. All common species were aggregated at scales from 10-50 m. Transects need to be long enough to transcend the scale of patchiness to improve accuracy. Some species of sea urchins and sea cucumbers (pepinos) which are cryptic by day emerged at night so that daytime censuses underestimated their abundance by up to 10 times. In the sea cucumber fishery, estimates of abundance need to be made at the scale of the population, i.e. at hundreds of km. A strategy for this is proposed