bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and Biological Activity of 6-Selenocaffeine: Potential Modulator of Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Martins Inês , Miranda Joana , Oliveira Nuno , Fernandes Ana , Gonçalves Sandrina , Antunes Alexandra
Published: May 2013

We report the development of a new microwave-based synthetic methodology mediated by Woollins’ reagent that allowed an efficient conversion of caffeine into 6-selenocaffeine. A preliminary evaluation on the modulation of antioxidant activity upon selenation of caffeine, using the DPPH assay, indicated a mild antioxidant activity for 6-selenocaffeine, contrasting with caffeine, that exhibited no antioxidant activity under the same experimental conditions. Interestingly, whereas 6-selenocaffeine has revealed to have a low cytotoxic potential in both MCF10A and MCF-7 breast cells (24 h, up to 100 µM, MTT assay), a differential effect was observed when used in combination with the anticancer agents doxorubicin and oxaliplatin in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The co-treatment of doxorubicin (1 µM) and 6-selenocaffeine (100 µM) resulted in a slight decrease in cellular viability when compared to doxorubicin (1 µM) alone. Conversely, the seleno-caffeine derivative at the same concentration markedly increased the viability of oxaliplatin (100 µM)-treated cells (p < 0.01). Overall, this work highlights an emerging methodology to synthesize organoselenium compounds and points out the differential roles of 6-selenocaffeine in the modulation of the cytotoxicity of anticancer agents.
Chitosan Based Heterogeneous Catalyses: Chitosan-Grafted-Poly(4-Vinylpyridne) as an Efficient Catalyst for Michael Additions and Alkylpyridazinyl Carbonitrile Oxidation
Authors: Khalil Khaled , Al-Matar Hamad
Published: May 2013

Chitosan-grafted-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (Cs-PVP) copolymers could be synthesized under heterogeneous conditions in presence of a potassium persulfate and sodium sulfite redox system. The synthesized graft copolymer could be utilized effectively, in the form of beads, as an efficient catalyst for Michael additions of active methylenes to functionally substituted alkenes. Moreover, methyl moiety oxidation in methyl pyridazinyl carbonitriles by H2O2 in the presence of chitosan-g-polyvinyl pyridine–supported iron (III) complex, Cs-PVP/Fe, could be affected. A variety of pyrans, naphthopyrans, and thiopyrans could be synthesized efficiently in the presence of these graft copolymer beads by novel catalytic routes. These polymeric catalysts could be used instead of the old toxic commercial organic basic catalysts, piperidine or pyridine, and could be readily isolated from the reaction mixture and recycled several times without significant loss of catalytic activity.
Improving Early Detection of Refugee-Related Stress Symptoms: Evaluation of an Inter-Professional and Inter-Cultural Skills Training Course in Sweden
Authors: Ekblad Solvig , Carlén Maria , Hägglöf Christina
Published: May 2013

Twenty-three of 26 participants, mainly women from six local agencies involved in the reception of refugees, completed a university course titled “Refugee-related stress and mental health—local cooperation”, which was spread over seven days in 2011. The course was based on evidence and clinical experience and was commissioned to serve as competency training by Stockholm County Council and Södertälje Municipality. It received funding from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. It was a continuation of an earlier one-week full-time university course from 2010 with the same title. As a result of a new law relating to refugee reception, which led to organizational change, the participants requested a continuation of the original course. The learning objectives were met (5.4 on a 6-point scale; 1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree). The general assessment of the course as a whole by the participants was 5.7 (on a 6-point scale, 1 = very unsatisfied, 6 = very satisfied). The participants thought that their skills had increased, and their perception was that they had significantly better control of their work situation following completion of the course. The most important findings were that participants from different agencies at the local level: (1) perceived that they had developed the sense that there was a local inter-cultural and inter-professional inter-agency collaboration in the reception of newly arrived refugees and (2) will continue efforts to stabilize and develop this together. This method of teaching, in terms of skills training, is not a “quick fix.” It is a process, and it needs support from those in power in order to continue.
Peritoneal Dialysis and the Process of Modality Selection
Authors: Blake Peter G. , Quinn Robert R. , Oliver Matthew J.
Published: May 2013

The process of modality selection and how it works is a critical determinant of peritoneal dialysis (PD) utilization. This very complex process has not been well analyzed. Here, we break it down into 6 steps and point out how problems at each step can significantly reduce the proportion of end-stage renal disease patients initiating PD. It is important that any program wising it to grow its use of PD understand the steps and the points at which problems may be arising. Examples are presented.
Impact Factors of Nursing Journals: What Nurses Need to Know
Authors: Oermann Marilyn H. , Shaw-Kokot Julia
Published: May 2013

How to Obtain Contact Hours by Reading this Issue

Instructions: 1.2
contact hours will be awarded by Villanova University College of Nursing upon successful completion of this activity. A contact hour is a unit of measurement that denotes 60 minutes of an organized learning activity. This is a learner-based activity. Villanova University College of Nursing does not require submission of your answers to the quiz.

A contact hour certificate will be awarded once you register, pay the registration fee, and complete the evaluation form online at
https://villanova.gosignmeup.com
.

In order to obtain contact hours you must:

1.

Read the article, “Impact Factors of Nursing Journals: What Nurses Need to Know,” found on pages 293–299, carefully noting any tables and other illustrative materials that are included to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the content. Be sure to keep track of the amount of time (number of minutes) you spend reading the article and completing the quiz.

2.

Read and answer each question on the quiz. After completing all of the questions, compare your answers to those provided within this issue. If you have incorrect answers, return to the article for further study.

3.

Go to the Villanova website to register for contact hour credit. You will be asked to provide your name, contact information, and a VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card number for payment of the $20.00 fee. Once you complete the online evaluation, a certificate will be automatically generated.

This activity is valid for continuing education credit until
June 30, 2015.

Contact Hours

This activity is co-provided by Villanova University College of Nursing and SLACK Incorporated.

Villanova University College of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Objectives

Upon completion of this article, the learner will be able to:

Describe journal impact factors and their uses.

Summarize findings of research on journal impact factors and implications for nurse authors.

Disclosure Statement

Neither the planners nor the authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

Impact factors (IFs) are scores based on the frequency with which articles in a journal have been cited in other journals during a 2-year or 5-year period. Impact factors vary across disciplines and even within fields because of differences in citing behaviors, types of publications, and other factors. Nurses need to understand IFs and the implications for them as authors, particularly in light of the small number of nursing journals with IFs. This article describes journal IFs, the current state of IFs for nursing journals, and considerations in selecting a journal for submission of an article.

J Contin Educ Nurs
2013;44(7):293–299.
Nursing Student Perceptions of Nurse-to-Nurse Collaboration in Dedicated Education Units and in Traditional Clinical Instruction Units
Authors: Moore Jane , Nahigian Eileen
Published: May 2013

Changes within the health care system have created opportunities for emerging models of care delivery, including collaborative nursing teams. Collaboration between RNs and interprofessional teams supports improved care delivery outcomes. One promising strategy to enhance collaboration is the use of dedicated education units, which are academic–clinical partnerships that facilitate nursing student learning. This descriptive, quantitative study described and compared perceptions of nursing students about nurse-to-nurse collaboration witnessed in dedicated education units and traditional clinical units. Data gathered with the Nurse-to-Nurse Collaboration Scale (NNCS) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and
t
tests. Findings demonstrate a significant difference on the visual analogue scales for nurse-to-nurse and nurse-to-nursing student collaboration, by type of unit. The NNCS findings indicated differences in the shared processes, coordination, communication, and conflict management subdomains. Further research in the area of collaboration among nurses and dedicated education units is recommended. [
J Nurs Educ.
2013;52(6):346–350.]
Pouancé (Maine-et-Loire), ou la constitution d’une ville castrale entre Bretagne et Anjou, du XIe au XIXe siècle
Authors: Meuret Jean-Claude , Neau André
Published: May 2013

La ville castrale de Pouancé (Maine-et-Loire) s’est développée à la marge de la Bretagne et de l’Anjou à l’ombre d’un château et d’une châtellenie mi bretons, mi-angevins. Elle présente l’intérêt de n’avoir connu qu’un développement moderne limité, de sorte que nombre de caractères et d’indices architecturaux ou urbains, souvent disparus ailleurs, y ont été fossilisés. Parallèlement à leur étude, l’exploration des archives, menée depuis de nombreuses années, a permis de réunir un dossier consistant. Il concerne les sources médiévales, mais aussi, ce qui est rare dans ce type d’étude, celles allant du xviie au xixe siècle. Ainsi ont été précisées, voire révélées, des données urbanistiques absentes ailleurs. Grâce à la complémentarité de ces approches, la création et l’évolution médiévale de la ville ont pu être analysées en trois grandes phases, fin xie, xiiie et xve siècles et accompagnées d’un dossier de plans anciens et de plans de synthèse qui fait partie intégrante de l’étude.
Une analyse socio-économique critique des PPP
Authors: Campagnac Elisabeth , Deffontaines Géry
Published: May 2013

Cet article propose une analyse socio-économique critique des PPP en revenant sur les promesses d’amélioration de la commande publique par le recours à ces mécanismes. Trois niveaux d’analyse sont proposés : — « micro » : les améliorations qualitatives intermédiaires « organisationnelles » et les résultats « finals » mesurables énoncés par la théorie économique, et supposés acquis ex ante se vérifient-ils ? Il est proposé par ailleurs de considérer les limites de l’approche input-output centrée sur les coûts et délais ; — sectorielle, tant l’analyse par nature « globale » des PPP, manque une analyse variant selon les contextes locaux et sectoriels ; — enfin une invitation à élargir l’analyse socio-économique critique au-delà de l’outil de la commande publique lui-même : dépasser l’analyse input-output (l’efficience économique de la production de l’équipement) et même celle des outcomes (l’efficacité du service dont il est le support) pour exercer une réflexion sur les outfalls (retombées plus larges) du recours aux PPP.
La perception des changements environnementaux : le cas de la collectivité côtière de Shippagan (Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada)
Authors: Stervinou Vincent , Mayrand Elise , Chouinard Omer , NadègeThiombiano Alida
Published: May 2013

Dans un contexte d’accompagnement des communautés côtières visant à mettre en place des stratégies d’atténuation et d’adaptation aux changements environnementaux, il nous paraît capital de comprendre la perception de ces changements par les membres de la collectivité. Le but de notre étude est de vérifier dans quelle mesure une description des changements environnementaux recueillie auprès d’une communauté côtière correspond aux données quantitatives compilées pour la région d’intérêt. Nous avons mené des entrevues semi-dirigées et animé un focus group avec des résidents du territoire de Shippagan (NB, Canada). La discussion ciblait six thèmes généraux (changements climatiques, variation du niveau marin, érosion, pollution du milieu marin, biodiversité, ressources en eau potable). En parallèle, nous avons compilé les données environnementales et climatiques pour la zone de Shippagan, en utilisant les archives de divers ministères et d’organismes non gouvernementaux. Nous avons pu obtenir à la fois des données quantifiées et des informations issues du savoir local pour onze variables environnementales ou climatiques. Les tendances temporelles rapportées par le savoir local concordent avec les données quantitatives pour six variables. Certains cas où les séries chronologiques semblent différer du savoir local pourraient découler d’un décalage entre les échelles temporelles des deux sources de données. En termes de gestion, ces recoupements entre savoir local et séries chronologiques quantifiées pourraient se traduire en motifs d’action et favoriser la mobilisation de la communauté pour la prise en charge de la qualité environnementale et la mise en place de stratégies d’adaptation aux changements climatiques.
Modeling and Scheduling of Crude Oil Operations in Refinery
Authors: Wu NaiQi , Zhou Mengchu , Chu Feng , Mammar Said
Published: May 2013

The process of an oil refinery contains both discrete event and continuous variables and can be characterized as a hybrid system. It is extremely challenging to schedule such a system. The short-term scheduling problem of crude oil operations addressed in this chapter is one of the most difficult parts. With jobs to be scheduled being unknown at the beginning, heuristics and meta-heuristics are unable to be applied. Thus, by the existing methods, this problem is formulated as a mathematical programming problem and solved by using exact methods. However, because it is NP-hard in nature, mathematical programming is not computationally efficient and cannot be applied in practice. Up to now, there is no software designed to this problem. In this chapter, for the first time, the problem is studied in a control theory perspective. The problem is modeled by a type of hybrid Petri nets. Based on the model, a two-level control architecture is presented. At the lower level, it solves the schedulability and detailed scheduling problem in a hybrid control theory perspective. At the upper level, it solves a refining scheduling problem, a relative simple problem, with the schedulability conditions as constraints. Consequently, it results in a breakthrough solution such that the large practical application problem can be solved.
Hybrid FlexRay/CAN Automotive Networks
Authors: Lange Rodrigo , Silva de Oliveira Rômulo
Published: May 2013

In recent years, the automotive industry has witnessed an exponential growth in the number of vehicular embedded applications, leading to the adoption of distributed implementations for systems in the powertrain and chassis domains. The Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol has been a de facto standard for intra-vehicular communications, while the FlexRay Communication System is being promoted as the future de facto standard for network interconnections of applications related to X-by-wire systems. Due to the characteristics of CAN and FlexRay, the coexistence of both protocols in the same vehicle is expected, leading to the use of gateways to manage the information exchange between electronic control units connected to different network segments. This chapter describes the main characteristics of CAN and FlexRay protocols, surveying the literature addressing schedulability and time analysis in both FlexRay and CAN protocols. The chapter also outlines the state-of-the-art in research about gateways for intra-vehicular communication networks.
Flash-Based Storage in Embedded Systems
Authors: Olivier Pierre , Boukhobza Jalil , Senn Eric
Published: May 2013

NAND Flash memories gained a solid foothold in the embedded systems domain due to its attractive characteristics in terms of size, weight, shock resistance, power consumption, and data throughput. Moreover, flash memories tend to be less confined to the embedded domain, as it can be observed through the market explosion of flash-based storage systems (average growth of the NVRAM is reported to be about 69% up to 2015). In this chapter, the authors focus on NAND flash memory NVRAM. After a global presentation of its architecture and very specific constraints, they describe the different ways to manage flash memories in embedded systems which are 1) the use of a hardware Flash Translation Layer (FTL), or 2) a dedicated Flash File System (FFS) software support implemented within the embedded operating system kernel.
Inter-Animation between Utterances in Collaborative Chat Conversations
Authors: Rebedea Traian , Trausan-Matu Stefan , Chiru Costin
Published: May 2013

With the wide adoption of instant messaging, online discussion forums, blogs and social networks, online communication has shifted from narration to highly collaborative discussions with multiple authors and discussion threads. However, the theories and methodologies for analyzing this new type of discourse which is different from narration, but also from dialogue, have remained mostly the same. The authors propose a new method for the analysis of this type of discourse, designed especially for multi-party chat conversations where parallel discussion floors and threads exist at the same time. The theoretical underpinning of the inter-animation framework is the detection of links between utterances in order to build a conversation graph that may be used to discover the discussion threads. The framework has been used for analyzing chat conversations of students in Computer Science in order to assess the involvement of each student, the inter-animation of the conversation and the degree of collaborative discourse.
Critical Electronic Discourse Analysis
Authors: Hodge Bob
Published: May 2013

This chapter investigates and endorses the integration of two existing research traditions, electronic discourse analysis (EDA) and critical discourse analysis (CDA), into a more powerful and comprehensive form of analysis of electronic discourses, Critical Electronic Discourse Analysis (CEDA). It sets this analytic project against the massive, unpredictable changes in culture and society which are associated with the electronic media revolution. It argues for innovative forms of analysis, in which ‘electronic discourse analysis’ acquires two over-lapping interpretations: electronically enabled analysis of discourses in all media; and all forms of analysis of electronic discourses and the social forms they express. It uses McLuhan and multi-modality theory to argue for major continuities and significant breaks in semiotic modes over long periods. It argues that powerful innovations in analysis and technology need to recognize and incorporate the two fundamental semiotic modes, digital and analogue, and not seek to replace one with the other.
Analyzing Blending Social and Mass Media Audiences through the Lens of Computer-Mediated Discourse
Authors: Zelenkauskaite Asta
Published: May 2013

This study illustrates advantages and applications of a mixed-method approach that includes quantitative computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) and automated analysis of content frequency. To evaluate these methodologies, audience comments consisting of Facebook comments and SMS mobile texting to Italian radio-TV station RTL 102.5 were analyzed. Blended media contents through computer-mediated discourse analysis expand horizons for theoretical and methodological audience analysis research in parallel to established audience analysis metrics.
Learning on the Move in the Web 2.0
Authors: Baladrón Carlos , Aguiar Javier M. , Calavia Lorena , Carro Belén , Sánchez-Esguevillas Antonio
Published: May 2013

This work aims at presenting the current state of the art of the m-learning trend, an innovative new approach to teaching focused on taking advantage of mobile devices for learning anytime, anywhere and anyhow, usually employing collaborative tools. However, this new trend is still young, and research and innovation results are still fragmented. This work aims at providing an overview of the state of the art through the analysis of the most interesting initiatives published and reported, studying the different approaches followed, their pros and cons, and their results. And after that, this chapter provides a discussion of where we stand nowadays regarding m-learning, what has been achieved so far, which are the open challenges and where we are heading.
Internet Crime
Authors: Herath Tejaswini , Rao H. Raghav , Upadhyaya Shambhu
Published: May 2013

It is estimated that over 1 billion people now have access to the Internet. This unprecedented access and use of Internet by individuals around the world, however, is accompanied by malicious and mischievous activities online. With the traditional crimes such as fraud, identity theft, and harassment now being committed with the use of the Internet, and networked home computers being exploited to carry out attacks such as denial of service, spamming, phishing and virus/worm propagation, it has become important to investigate security and privacy issues as they pertain to individual Internet users. To date very little is known about what characteristics of internet users affect their computing and on-line behaviors as they relate to security online. While some attention has been paid to understand the security issues affecting corporations, research investigating security issues as they relate to home users is still in infancy. Drawing from disciplines such as criminology, sociology, consumer fraud, and information security, this study seeks to find the role of computing skills and computer training, social influence, and gender on person’s vulnerability to Internet crimes. Our findings are significant and shed light in this important area of Internet crime contributing to the information security literature.
Online Privacy, Vulnerabilities, and Threats
Authors: Sockel Hy , Falk Louis K.
Published: May 2013

There are many potential threats that come with conducting business in an online environment. Management must find a way to neutralize or at least reduce these threats if the organization is going to maintain viability. This chapter is designed to give managers an understanding, as well as the vocabulary needed to have a working knowledge of online privacy, vulnerabilities, and threats. The chapter also highlights techniques that are commonly used to impede attacks and protect the privacy of the organization, its customers, and employees. With the advancements in computing technology, any and all conceivable steps should be taken to protect an organization’s data from outside and inside threats.
Intrusion in the Sphere of Personal Communications
Authors: Rauhofer Judith
Published: May 2013

In this chapter the limits for the sphere of personal communications are set. Different understandings of the “right to be alone” or “the right to respect for private and family life” are provided. The significance of the information privacy is pointed out and the right to informational self-determination is deciphered. Having presented the substrate for personal data protection, a legal synopsis of the aforementioned subject is the concluding part of the chapter, with emphasis on data retention.
Data Mining and Privacy Protection
Authors: Faganel Armand , Bratina Danijel
Published: May 2013

Modern data mining tools search databases for hidden patterns, finding predictive information that is otherwise not evident. There exist four models for privacy protection, which depending on their application, can be complementary or contradictory. This chapter deals with the comparison of EU comprehensive laws model and US sectoral laws model that arise from different cultural and historical background. The main objectives are to compare the current state of consumer’s privacy protection in EU and USA, discuss legal frameworks, propose some best practice implications, and summarize perceived future trends. We must not forget that consumers have the right to communicate and interact, and also to keep the control over their personal data, even after they disclosed it to others.
Do Privacy Statements Really Work?
Authors: Nemati Hamid R. , Van Dyke Thomas
Published: May 2013

Companies today collect, store and process enormous amounts of information in order to identify, gain, and maintain customers. Electronic commerce and advances in database and communication technology allow business to collect and analyze more personal information with greater ease and efficiency than ever before. This has resulted in increased privacy concerns and a lack of trust among consumers. These concerns have prompted the FCC to call for the use of Fair Information Practices in electronic commerce. Many firms have added privacy statements, formal declarations of privacy and security policy, to their e-commerce web sites in an attempt to reduce privacy concerns by increasing consumer trust in the firm and reducing the perceived risk associated with e-commerce transactions. This article describes an experiment designed to determine the efficacy of that strategy.
Online Privacy Protection in Japan
Authors: Tarn J. Michael , Hamamoto Naoki
Published: May 2013

This chapter explores the current status and practices of online privacy protection in Japan. Since the concept of privacy in Japan is different from that in western countries, the background of online privacy concepts and control mechanisms are discussed. The chapter then introduces Japan’s Act on the Protection of Personal Information along with the privacy protection system in Japan. Following the discussion of the privacy law, Japan’s privacy protection mechanisms to support and implement the new act are examined. To help companies make smooth adjustments and transitions, a four-stage privacy protection solution model is presented. Further, this chapter discusses two case studies to exemplify the problems and dilemmas encountered by two Japanese enterprises. The cases are analyzed and their implications are discussed. The chapter is concluded with future trends and research directions.
Secure Electronic Voting with Cryptography
Authors: Wang Xunhua , Grove Ralph , Heydari M. Hossain
Published: May 2013

In recent years, computer and network-based voting technologies have been gradually adopted for various elections. However, due to the fragile nature of electronic ballots and voting software, computer voting has posed serious security challenges. This chapter studies the security of computer voting and focuses on a cryptographic solution based on mix-nets. Like traditional voting systems, mix-net-based computer voting provides voter privacy and prevents vote selling/buying and vote coercion. Unlike traditional voting systems, mix-net-based computer voting has several additional advantages: 1) it offers vote verifiability, allowing individual voters to directly verify whether their votes have been counted and counted correctly; 2) it allows voters to check the behavior of potentially malicious computer voting machines and thus does not require voters to blindly trust computer voting machines. In this chapter, we give the full details of the building blocks for the mix-net-based computer voting scheme, including semantically secure encryption, threshold decryption, mix-net, and robust mix-net. Future research directions on secure electronic voting are also discussed.
ICT Security Policy
Authors: Mohammed Lawan A.
Published: May 2013

Computer crime is now becoming a major international problem, with continual increases in incidents of cracking, hacking, viruses, worms, bacteria and the like having been reported in recent years. As a result of this massive vulnerabilities and new intrusion techniques, the rate of computer crime has accelerated beyond imagination. It is therefore vital to find policy of reducing and controlling the risk associated with such activities. However, unless the security challenges and countermeasures are well understood, the policy may not yield any fruitful results. This chapter discusses different categories of computer crime for the benefit of individuals and organizations concern with combating the problem. The chapter also discuses some security policies as means of limiting some of the vulnerabilities mentioned.
The Human Attack in Linguistic Steganography
Authors: Orgun C. Orhan , Chand Vineeta
Published: May 2013

This chapter develops a linguistically robust encryption system, Lunabel, which converts a message into syntactically and semantically innocuous text. Drawing upon linguistic criteria, Lunabel uses word replacement, with substitution classes based on traditional linguistic features (syntactic categories and subcategories), as well as features under-exploited in earlier works: semantic criteria, graphotactic structure, and inflectional class. The original message is further hidden through the use of cover texts—within these, Lunabel retains all function words and targets specific classes of content words for replacement, creating text which preserves the syntactic structure and semantic context of the original cover text. Lunabel takes advantage of cover text styles which are not expected to be necessarily comprehensible to the general public, making any semantic anomalies more opaque. This line of work has the promise of creating encrypted texts which are less detectable to human readers than earlier steganographic efforts.
How Much is Too Much?
Authors: Robinson Nicholas P. , Ensign Prescott C.
Published: May 2013

A marketeer’s point of view is presented in this chapter. Although legal restrictions safeguard processes and restrict annoying intrusive techniques, protecting customers, it can be argued that responsible privacy practices in the marketing profession will add value for consumers. As businesses compete with greater intensity to provide the customer with control over areas such as product offerings, services provided, and account management, privacy standards, being an important part of the customer-company relationship, formulate the grounds upon which businesses compete to provide greater customer control.
Effects of Individual Trust in Broadcast Media and the Internet on Privacy-Risking Uses of E-Health
Authors: Wilson E. Vance , Dobrzykowski David D. , Cazier Joseph A.
Published: May 2013

People claim to be concerned about information privacy on the Internet, yet they frequently give out personal information to online vendors and correspondents with whom they have little, if any, prior experience. This behavior is known as the privacy paradox and is particularly relevant to the context of e-health, due to the special risks of health information exposure. Using data from the 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), this study addresses a key question regarding online health information privacy: Do individuals self-police risky e-health activities (i.e., uses where personal information is given out) or are they indifferent to risk based upon generalized trust in broadcast media and the Internet as sources for health information? In exploring this question, our study contrasts several alternative models of health trust, and recommends a new partial-mediation model for future studies. The results show that Internet trust mediates most effects of broadcast media trust on Internet use and that Internet trust plays a much smaller role in motivating Internet uses that are risky than is the case for low-risk uses. These results have important implications for researchers, policymakers, and healthcare administrators in determining the level of privacy protection individuals need in their use of e-health applications.
Do You Know Where Your Data Is?
Authors: Reay Ian , Beatty Patricia , Dick Scott , Miller James
Published: May 2013

Numerous countries around the world have enacted privacy-protection legislation, in an effort to protect their citizens and instill confidence in the valuable business-to-consumer E-commerce industry. These laws will be most effective if and when they establish a standard of practice that consumers can use as a guideline for the future behavior of e-commerce vendors. However, while privacy-protection laws share many similarities, the enforcement mechanisms supporting them vary hugely. Furthermore, it is unclear which (if any) of these mechanisms are effective in promoting a standard of practice that fits with the social norms of those countries. We present a large-scale empirical study of the role of legal enforcement in standardizing privacy protection on the Internet. Our study is based on an automated analysis of documents posted on the 100,000 most popular websites (as ranked by Alexa.com). We find that legal frameworks have had little success in creating standard practices for privacy-sensitive actions.
Publicly Available Computers
Authors: Rensel A.D. , Abbas J.M , Rao H.R.
Published: May 2013

Businesses and governments continue to expand the use of the internet to access and provide a wide range services to consumers. This change in service delivery presents a potential access barrier for people who do not have access to the internet available in their homes. Publicly available computers attempt to bridge this gap; however, it is not clear if people are willing to use computers in these environments to engage in the full range of web-based activities, particularly online transactions. We expand Triandis’ modified TRA model to consider user characteristics and the impact of the physical and virtual environment on public transactional use of websites. Results indicate that people are sensitive to the physical environment surrounding the computer and that Internet self-efficacy supports public transactional use while individual need for privacy deters transactional use in a public environment. In addition, people without personal internet access do complete transactions at other non-public locations and that completing transactions from non-public locations is a strong determinant of public transactional use.
Regulation of Cybercafés in Nigeria
Authors: Eyitemi Mercy
Published: May 2013

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss regulation of cybercafés in Nigeria. It describes cyber crime in relation to cybercafé, the incidents of cybercrime as well as crime associated with cyber usage. The chapter reveals why cybercafés are used as havens for cybercrimes in Nigeria and looks at efforts made by Nigerian government to regulate cybercafé as well as challenges of regulating cybercafés in the country.
Responsibilities and Liabilities with Respect to Catastrophes
Authors: Axelrod C. Warren
Published: May 2013

This chapter examines the impact of catastrophes on information security and suggests who might have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate level of data protection when a catastrophe occurs. The author asserts that catastrophe contingency planning is very different from regular forms of business continuity and disaster recovery planning in terms of size, focus, scope, and content. Catastrophe contingency plans (CCPs) must comprehend a broad range of potential events affecting large numbers of humans and other living creatures, information processing capabilities, information and media, buildings, and infrastructure, and the like, each with its security considerations, and each characterized by its own roles, responsibilities and liabilities. The intent of the chapter is encourage the development of more comprehensive and realistic CCPs, that is, plans that delineate roles and responsibilities clearly and liabilities should CCPs go awry.
A Model-Based Privacy Compliance Checker
Authors: Pearson Siani , Allison Damien
Published: May 2013

Increasingly, e-business organisations are coming under pressure to be compliant to a range of privacy legislation, policies and best practice. There is a clear need for high-level management and administrators to be able to assess in a dynamic, customisable way the degree to which their enterprise complies with these. We outline a solution to this problem in the form of a model-driven automated privacy process analysis and configuration checking system. This system models privacy compliance constraints, automates the assessment of the extent to which a particular computing environment is compliant and generates dashboard-style reports that highlight policy failures. We have developed a prototype that provides this functionality in the context of governance audit; this includes the development of software agents to gather information on-the-fly regarding selected privacy enhancing technologies and other aspects of enterprise system configuration. This approach may also be tailored to enhance the assurance provided by existing governance tools.
Examining an Individual’s Perceived Need for Privacy and Security
Authors: Pirim Taner , James Tabitha , Boswell Katherine , Reithel Brian , Barkhi Reza
Published: May 2013

Security and privacy issues have risen in importance as the use of technology increases. Newly developed technological devices for asset security can only be successful if people are willing to use them. Gaining an understanding of individuals’ acceptance and possible use of new security technologies would be beneficial to entities that are developing, marketing, and implementing new security technologies. This study develops an instrument to determine an individual’s need for security and privacy and investigates the relationship between these two constructs. The results show that the instrument developed is reliable and that a significant relationship exists between the two constructs.
Etiology, Motives, and Crime Hubs
Authors: Halder Debarati , Jaishankar K.
Published: May 2013

This chapter describes on the various aspects that surround victimization of women in the cyberspace and goes in depth to analyze the reasons for such victimization. The etiology of cyber crimes against women is something novel as this has overridden the conventional causes of criminality. The motivation behind the cyber crimes against women is also analyzed. Spatial aspect of physical space crime is a well-researched subject and in this chapter the ‘crime hubs’ or the hotspots of cyber crimes are dealt. Apart from this an attempt is made to develop characteristics of victims and perpetrators of cyber crimes against women.
Advances in Privacy Preserving Record Linkage
Authors: Karakasidis Alexandros , Verykios Vassilios S.
Published: May 2013

However, even though many solutions have been proposed towards addressing this problem, a new side effect rises regarding the privacy of the data which usually has to be protected during linkage. Sensitive information such as names, addresses, and illnesses, especially in cases of medical data, should not be revealed without further evidence to any participant of the merging procedure. This raises the need of creating new techniques for linking data while, at the same time, the privacy of the subjects described by these data is preserved. This need led to the evolvement of a new research area called privacy preserving record linkage. This chapter will attempt to present the state of the art of the methods proposed to address the privacy preserving record linkage problem and provide a taxonomy of these techniques based on their core characteristics.
A Systems Framework for Modeling Health Disparities in the Prevalence in Chronic Conditions following a Natural Disaster Event
Authors: Diaz Rafael , Behr Joshua G. , Longo Francesco , Liu Hua
Published: May 2013

Natural disaster events impact both the short- and long-term health of a region’s population. Due to variation in the vulnerability among population segments, a severe storm event can be expected over time to have a greater public health impact upon traditionally underserved and medically fragile populations. This research illustrates the causal relationships leading to a change over time in the prevalence of chronic conditions among black and non-black populations within U.S. Hampton Roads. Using a system dynamics approach, the authors develop and integrate a macro model that captures change in regional economic and demographic profiles with a micro model that focuses on access to health services and the ability to respond within the context of the changing regional environment. The authors’ study finds that: (1) the disparity in the prevalence of chronic conditions increases over time following the event, (2) the growth in health disparity may be slowed by regional resiliency intervention policies, and (3) mitigation efforts result in greater reductions in growth of chronic conditions among the black population relative the non-black general population. Knowledge of the disparate impact that such an event will have on the long-term health of underserved and medically fragile populations may be used to inform mitigation investments.
Hydrography, nutrients and abundance and distribution of zooplankton in Negombo Lagoon, Sri Lanka.
Authors: Gammanpila M
Published: May 2013

Negombo Lagoon is a productive fishing ground and also a sink for many anthropogenic effluents draining from its surrounding urban area. The seasonal abundance and distribution of zooplankton were investigated in relation to some physico-chemical parameters of the lagoon from March 2008 to September 2009. Zooplankton and surface water samples were collected from five sampling sites where effluents are discharged to the lagoon and analyzed using standard methods. Lagoon salinity ranged spatially from 0 - 25 ppt and mean monthly salinity varied from 1.08 ±1.75 to 15.23 ±5.33 ppt. Surface water temperature varied from 26.0 to 34.1°C whereas mean pH ranged between 7.34 ± 0.32 and 8.02 ± 0.48. Variation of mean dissolved oxygen as between 5.73 ± 2.49 mg/l and 7.00 ± 1.87 mg/l. Micro-crustaceans represented the major component of zooplankton assemblage and ranged from 54.37 to 84.33% throughout the study period. A higher percentage of freshwater cladocerans was recorded during low salinity period (February-April, 2009) in Dundugam Oya and from April to June in Hamilton canal, the main freshwater inlets of the lagoon. Mean cladoceran density in Dandugam Oya was (1.96±3.50 individuals/l) higher compared to the cladoceran density in Hamilton canal (0.47±1.10 number/l). Nevertheless there was no significant relationship between salinity and the density of cladoceran. A positive significant correlation was found nitrate-N concentration and copepod density (r = 0.804; p<0.01) for the site in Dungalpitiya, where rotifer density did not show positive relationship but correlated positively with phosphate-P concentration although it was statistically insignificant (r = 0.489; p>0.05). Further, rotifer density in Madabokka area showed a positive and significant relationship with nitrite-N concentration (r = 0.731; p<0.01). The molluscan abundance showed a significantly positive correlation with salinity (r = 0.713; p<0.01) for the Dandugan Oya site.High concentration of phosphate and occurrence of pollution indicator species reveal organic pollution in the lagoon. Abundance of plankton was strongly influenced by the water circulation pattern and direct or indirect human impacts that occur at each site of the lagoon.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljas.v15i0.5447Sri Lanka J. Aquat. Sci. 15 (2010): p.13-24
Mercury, Cadmium and Lead Levels in Three Commercially Important Marine Fish Species of in Sri Lanka
Authors: Jinadasa BKKK , Rameesha LRS , Edirisinghe EMRKB , Rathnayake RMUSK
Published: May 2013

Most heavy metals which bio-accumulate in fishes, especially predatory species do not have any biological significance or beneficial use, but due to the presence of heavy metal fish can pose a health risk to consumers. The objective of this research is to determine mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) levels in samples of yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacores (n=25), swordfish, Xiphias gladius (n=35), and red snapper, Lutjanus sp (n=12). Samples were prepared by dividing edible parts into small pieces and homogenizing. Total Hg was measured by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry whereas the Pb and Cd were analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after microwave-assisted digestion. Swordfish contains highest mercury and cadmium concentrations while yellowfin tuna contained the highest lead concentrations. The mean concentrations of heavy metals in fish muscles were found to be 1.24± 0.72 mg/kg (Hg), 0.13±0.83 mg/kg (Cd) and 0.03±0.04 mg/kg (Pb) in swordfish and 0.39± 0.19 mg/kg (Hg), 0.02±0.02 mg/kg (Cd) and 0.06±0.06 mg/kg (Pb) in yellowfin tuna. In red snapper concentrations were 0.17± 0.06 mg/kg (Hg), 0.02±0.01 mg/kg (Cd) and 0.04±0.05 mg/kg (Pb). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljas.v15i0.5481 Sri Lanka J. Aquat. Sci. 15 (2010): p.39-43
Influence of turbidity regime on larval settlement patterns of stony coral Pocillopora damicornis in Polhena reef, Sri Lanka
Authors: Kumara PB Terney Pradeep
Published: May 2013

Coral population structure is determined mainly by the larval settlement and recruitment pattern of sclerectenian corals. This pattern is mainly influenced by various environmental parameters such as temperature, pH, salinity, depth, current velocity and direction, tidal variations and turbidity. Experiments reported here examine the impacts of turbidity on the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of larval settlement of Indo-Pacific coral, Pocillopora damicornis at Polhena reef of Southern Sri Lanka. The experiment was conducted in four sites. Depending on the topography and the characteristics of the reef substrate each site was further divided in to three locations as reef crest, mid reef flat and reef lagoon. Terracotta tiles were attached to quantify larval settlement rates. Tiles were retrieved in monthly intervals and observed for P. damicornis larval settlements. Turbidity measurements were taken from the same locations. Larval settlement and turbidity showed a significant temporal (P<0.05) and spatial variation (MDS stress<0.1). The highest settlement rate and turbidity level were observed in May and March respectively. A significant relationship was observed between larval settlement pattern and sedimentation regime (RELATE test, ρ = 0.251, P<0.05). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljas.v15i0.5484 Sri Lanka J. Aquat. Sci. 15 (2010): p.45-60
When patrons are patrons: A social-scientific and realistic reading of the parable of the Feast (Lk 14:16b–23)
Authors: Van Eck Ernest
Published: May 2013

This article presents a social-scientific and realistic interpretation of the parable of the Feast. The characteristics of a pre-industrial city are used to determine the realism of the parable. The social-scientific interpretation of the parable considers meals as ceremonies. The cultural values embedded in meals, namely honour and shame, patronage, reciprocity and purity, receive attention. The social dynamics of invitations in the 1st-century Mediterranean world is used as a lens to understand the invitations as an honour challenge, and the social game of gossip is used to obtain an understanding of the excuses in the parable. The conclusion reached is that the parable turns the world in which it is told upside down. As such, the parable has something to say about the injustices that are a part of the society we live in.