bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hazardous Materials Transportation: a Literature Review and an Annotated Bibliography
Authors: Centrone Giampaolo  , Pesenti Raffaele  , Ukovich Walter
Published: February 2025

The hazardous materials transportation poses risks to life, health, property, and the environment due to the possibility of an unintentional release. We present a bibliographic survey on this argument paying particular attention to the road transportation. We attempt to encompass both theoretical and application oriented works. Research on this topic is spread over the broad spectrum of computer science and the literature has an operations research and quantitative risk assessment focus. The models present in the literature vary from simple risk equations to set of differential equations. In discussing the literature, we present and compare the underlying assumptions, the model specifications and the derived results. We use the previous perspectives to critically cluster the papers in the literature into a classification scheme.
Housing in Response to the Human Life Cycle
Authors: Baldwin Emory
Published: February 2025

The essence of Universal Design principles rests in the fundamental premise of a flexible, supportive, and nondiscriminatory environment. Unfortunately, conventional housing is generally designed for the singular needs of a romanticized nuclear family without the allowance for disabilities, transitions or creative living solutions. The average household composition is becoming increasingly varied as our society becomes more diverse. The traditional household makeup has expanded to include elderly relatives, caregivers, unrelated adults, and even home businesses. The rapidly aging population and longer life expectancies are leading to a greater number of people with physical and cognitive disabilities. Additionally, housing prices are high for first-time buyers, while many ‘empty nesters’ have more space than they need. These trends demand a new approach to designing environments, which would better accommodate people's changing situations and their varying abilities. By designing flexibility into homes from the beginning, it is possible to reduce one's frequent need to move and also to enable our elders to age in place. With a home's layout and structure designed to allow for a number of varied floor plans, it may be easily modified when the need arises, thus reducing potential remodeling costs and waste, increasing the marketability of a home, and contributing to more stable and sustainable communities. With this truly universal approach, a home would be more than just a shelter. It would be a person's most valuable tool, supporting them throughout their lifespan.
Working Posture Preferences for Elderly Computer Operators with Low Back Pain
Authors: Haynes Scott
Published: February 2025

Employers are looking for ways to retain older employees past retirement age. Changes in computer technology and improvements to ergonomics in the workplace make changes to traditional computer workstations more feasible. In response to these trends a study was conducted in which computer operators worked from five different postures. Results indicate that adjustments to arm supports and placement of computer peripherals impacts posture preferences, and that age-related trends warrant further research into this topic.
Competitive Enablement: A Consumer-Oriented Approach to Device Selection in Device-assisted Vision Rehabilitation
Authors: Strong Graham  , Jutai Jeffrey  , Plotkin Ann  , Bevers Pauline
Published: February 2025

The role of device-assisted vision rehabilitation is to recommend assistive technology to ameliorate vision disabilities that people with impaired vision identify as being problematic. “Competitive enablement” is a conceptual approach wherein individual consumers evaluate the functional utility of competing device interventions while performing a series of self-identified problematic tasks of high functional relevance to the individuals themselves. Adherence to this approach lessens abandonment rates and produces significant impacts in both functional and psychosocial domains.
New Approach to Ultrasonic Urine Sensor
Authors: Kodama Hiroyuki  , Yoshimura Hisashi  , Huang Kejin  , Yu Jing  , Ichikawa Naoki  , Maeda Ryutaro  , Nagata Yoshihiko  , Wada Mitsuo
Published: February 2025

An ultrasonic urine sensor was developed to improve the quality of life for older people with urinary incontinence. The sensor was first designed for medical use and is now used in the clinical guideline of the Japanese Urological Association. Improvements were undertaken to make the sensor easy to use. The new approach is described in this paper.
An Integrated Structure of Intelligent Techniques for Enhancing Easy Controllability of Service Robots
Authors: Lee Hyong-Euk  , Do Jun-Hyeong  , Kim Yong-Hwi  , Kim Heon-Hui  , Park Kwang-Hyun  , Bien Z. Zenn
Published: February 2025

In this paper, we propose an integrated structure of intelligent techniques to enhance easy-controllability of service robots for the elderly and people with disabilities in a smart home environment. Intelligent techniques have been implemented in human-robot interfaces according to the 3 categories of intelligence, toward enhancing controllability. First, a gesture-recognition system has been implemented toward a more intuitive/natural human-robot interface. Second, a task planning system plays a role to simplify possible commands by the user to control various kinds of devices/robotic agents, for given well-structured tasks. Third, we applied a life-long learning system for intention reading of the user to provide service tasks automatically in advance of his/her explicit command instruction.
The RoboCare Project: The User's View
Authors: Cesta Amedeo  , Cortellessa Gabriella  , Giuliani M. Vittoria  , Pecora Federico  , Scopelliti Massimiliano  , Tiberio Lorenza
Published: February 2025

The RoboCare Domestic Environment (RDE) is the result of a three year project aimed at developing cognitive support technology for elderly people. Specifically, the domestic environment is equipped with sensors, intelligent software components and devices which cooperate to provide cognitive support to the assisted person. The RoboCare interaction capabilities have been concentrated in a robotic mediator that acts as the main communication channel between the users and the intelligent domestic environment. This paper presents an evaluation of elder perceptions of assistive robots and smart domestic environments. Results show how the acceptability of robotic devices in home settings does not depend only on the practical benefits they can provide, but also on complex relationships between the cognitive, affective and emotional components of an individual's images of robots. Specifically, we analyzed a number of evaluation criteria related to the robot's appearance, the way in which it communicates with the user, and the perceived usefulness of its support services. Among these criteria, the paper proposes and reports an evaluation of the Proactive interaction modality (where the system takes the initiative) and On-demand interaction (in which the user explicitly requests a service). Users reported the On-demand support services in personal safety scenarios as particularly useful, but less useful in situations which are not critical. The paper also provides a discussion which can be useful for the design of future assistive agents and socially interactive robotic.
Countering Political Violence and Terrorism in Young People Through Intergroup Contacts
Authors: Stringer Maurice  , Hunter John
Published: February 2025

In this paper, we outline the significant progress that has been made by researchers using contact theory to combat the worst effects of prejudice and group based feelings amongst young people. We argue that the emergence of segregated areas in western societies, with members of religious or ethnic groups living largely in isolation from other groups, provides a breeding ground for group discontent and terrorist recruitment. We outline research suggesting that the group perceptions which underpin extreme group attitudes and terrorism in young people can be changed through contact with other group members. We discuss new evidence suggesting that young people's attitudes in segregated environments can be moderated through intergroup contacts. Using Moghaddam's conceptual exploration of steps toward terrorism as a framework, we discuss how cross group contacts may help to counter terrorism at different levels in his hypothetical staircase. Intergroup contacts we suggest can play an important role in both combating categorical “them versus us” thinking and when combined with new technology may help interrupt the circle of isolation that is central to terrorist recruitment via the internet.
When Violence, Terror, and Death Visit Youth
Authors: Owen Dean W.
Published: February 2025

Each day children are exposed to death and trauma as the result of war, terror, crime and disease resulting from political and social events over which they have no possible control. This presentation will review the various categories of psychological trauma and loss and the common responses to that trauma by children and youth at different developmental levels. Psychological trauma will be described and discussed as an understandable and very predictable reaction to a sudden, unexpected, and intense event that taxes individuals beyond their usual capacity to cope. These events will be discussed in terms of intensity and duration. Even for adults with years of life experience, a fine education, and well developed coping mechanisms trauma and the resulting loss, grief, and stress can be overwhelming at times but for children with much less power and control, it is no less real and full of pain.
A Study of UK Anti-Terror Law
Authors: Charvat J.P.I.A.G.
Published: February 2025

This paper discusses the development of the UK's terrorism law from the emergency powers of the Northern Ireland Troubles to the law's recent developments in the face of contemporary terrorist threats. The paper looks in detail at the London attacks of July 2005 and other events, and at how the laws have been applied in countering the terrorists' threat and their activities in the UK.
Islamic Radicalism: The UK Case
Authors: Kfir Isaac
Published: February 2025

The paper explores some of the reasons behind the apparent rise in Islamic radicalism in the United Kingdom over the last few years. By using Fukuyama's and Huntington's theories, the author argues that a spiritual void coupled with a desire to belong to something ‘greater’, has led young British Muslims towards Islamism. In the second part, the author explores some of the measures undertaken by British authorities to combat Islamic militancy. The paper concludes with recommendations as to what could improve relations between mainstream British society and the Muslim community in the hope of reducing Islamic militancy.
WMD Proliferation in Asia and Broader Context: North East Asia Multilateral Security Regimes
Authors: Petrovsky Vladimir
Published: February 2025

The post Cold War world is evolving towards complex dependency and multi-polar structure of international relations in both economic and security spheres, thus making international security co-operation a challenging task for the XXI century. New key elements of security and cooperation architecture in Asia, including North East Asia sub-region, are based on the Human Security and Human Development approaches; peacekeeping and peace enforcement by regional organizations; civil/military co-operation and co-ordination in fighting against international terrorism.
US-Russian Strategic Arms Control: Past without Future?
Authors: Pikayev Alexander
Published: February 2025

The United States and Russia are still engaged into several strategic arms control agreements. Among them: the 1991 Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty (START) and the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty (SORT, Moscow Treaty). The role of the bilateral strategic arms control faced dramatic change during last 40 years. Recently, due to the expiration of the START I in December 2009, the last chapter of this formerly central bilateral and, sometimes, global issue might be witnessed. The SORT, which will expire in May 2012, cannot exist without START verification provisions. Therefore, abolition of the START without negotiating another follow-on agreement could transform the 2002 Moscow Treaty into meaningless legally binding declaration of intentions.
The Middle Powers Initiative and Alternative Multilateral Approaches
Authors: Granoff Jonathan
Published: February 2025

I represent the Global Security Institute, the non-governmental organization that proudly houses the Middle Powers Initiative, and we are but one NGO that seeks to make a contribution to enriching the public debate and perspective of official decisionmakers by advancing nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament based on principles of global security and the rule of law. In other words, we are not constrained by the prism of purely national interests and can approach an issue from a universal perspective. We firmly believe that threats posed by nuclear weapons are best understood in that framework.
UN Security Council Resolutions in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Sphere: Assessments of Effectiveness
Authors: Kirichenko E.
Published: February 2025

The UN Security Council has not practically dealt with the WMD proliferation problems until recently. In extreme cases it used such instrument as resolution.
Consideration of Technoparks' Network Security
Authors: Makhaniok Mikhail  , Valchevskaja Gajane  , Valchewsky Andrey  , Fontaine Jean-Guy
Published: February 2025

Secure networking infrastructure for Technoparks is proposed. Its goal is to provide full range of ICT services under strict conditions of informational and networking security. Additional requirement of reliability and tolerance forced implementation of specialized hardware reservation. The proposed activities are fully based on advanced Cisco Internet technologies.
Overview of the Network Security Policy for Belarus NREN
Authors: Makhaniok Mikhail  , Valchevskaja Gajane  , Valchewsky Andrey  , Nikitin Eugeny  , Fontaine Jean-Guy
Published: February 2025

The proposed policy is applied to all users of Belarusian NRENs at any location and represents the obligatory requirements that must be utilized. This policy is not intended to inhibit access to information services that BY-NREN users have made accessible for public inquiry, e.g., World Wide Web, or anonymous ftp. However, use of such services to access or attempt to access information not intended for public display or use, or to circumvent or violate the responsibilities of system users or system administrators as defined in this policy, is prohibited.
Global IT Outsourcing Market and Opportunities for Belarus
Authors: Robb Karl
Published: February 2025

This is now a standard practice of most industries (Automotive, Engineering, Consumer, Clothing, Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Financial Services) in today's global market becoming particularly strong in IT industry, as there are no “physical goods/products” needed to be exported or imported and Internet makes every person “available” to any employer globally. The presentation provides insight into the current situation in the global IT outsourcing market arena, the latest trends and gears behind the ICT market growth, as well as scrutinizes the prospects of the IT sector development in Belarus facilitated by such government initiative as High Tech Park creation scrutinized through the prism of the global IT industry successes demonstrated by India and Ireland.
Development of the National Academy of Sciences Network BASNET
Authors: Makhaniok Mikhail  , Valchevskaja Gajane
Published: February 2025

The computer network of the National Academy of Sciences (BASNET) is described. BASNET is the only research and education network in Belarus that has high speed access to the Pan European research network GEANT. BASNET is based on CISCO equipment that provides secure advanced services for their customers – over 100 research and education institutions and laboratories.
Overview of ICT Integration in Educational Institutions in Tunisia
Authors: Zinady Gamra
Published: February 2025

The computer network of Tunisia is presented. It unites educational institutions and schools utilizing unified strategy. Key goal is to support innovation and creative scientific research among its priorities to disseminate digital culture and address a full range of challenges related to ICT integration in all educational institutions.
The Genetic Model of Innovations
Authors: Shckileov V.
Published: February 2025

The world of technical devices as the symbol shows, will not die at once, and will be gradually and smoothly disappear from our use. All human needs, as well as ways of their satisfaction, are incorporated by the Creator in our biological DNK. To discover them is our major task.
Active Ageing and ICT for Learning
Authors: Ala-Mutka Kirsti  , Punie Yves
Published: February 2025

The role of learning is changing in ageing societies as the ageing phenomenon causes pressures to improve the quality of life and active participation of older people for promoting active ageing. Learning provides means to improve both the physical and mental health as well as general activity of older people. Research suggests that older people do have learning needs and are interested in learning and active ageing, but opportunities for participating to meaningful learning activities in old age are scarce and the conditions not always right. However, participation to learning communities is not only important for the older people themselves but also for younger generations to access and learn from the knowledge and experiences of older people. ICT can provide new means for creating learning opportunities for older people, both for organized education and for building communities for informal learning and communication. However, ICT tools are new for many older people today and the threshold for taking up new tools for beginning new learning activities may be high. Attention is needed to improve the usability of tools, access to the equipment, and to the types of learning opportunities provided. As the background and motivation of older people may differ from each other as well as from younger generations, special considerations are needed to design ICT supported learning approaches that enable relevant learning for all participants.
Human rights, identity and anonymity: Digital identity and its management in e-society
Authors: Carblanc Anne
Published: February 2025

Expression and use of our identity are changing with digitalization, biometric technology, and the interoperability of information and communication systems and networks. In the developing e-society, digital identity and its management become central to doing business in both the private and public sectors. The trend is in enabling the secure management of user identities and rights across heterogeneous information systems and various domains for e-commerce and e-government purposes. This short paper describes a few challenges relating to digital identity in the current economic and social landscape. It suggests that one of the most important matters for the future of our e-society is to clarify which rights and obligations are attached to digital identity and its management.
Ethical and Legal Aspects of Biometrics (Convention 108)
Authors: Tomova Sylvia
Published: February 2025

The application of biometric technology in the domain of identity management raises important ethical and legal questions. Biometrics has therefore been the subject of heated debates, particularly with regard to its relation to the issue of fundamental human rights. While some experts are calling for the introduction of data protection legislations that are specific to biometric technology, others are claiming that biometric data is personal data and, as such, can be covered by existing legislation. This article looks at some of the principles of the Council of Europe's Convention 108 and how they can apply to the collection and processing of biometric data.
Biometrics: Security vs Privacy. A scientific and bioethical point of view
Authors: Cosmi E.V.  , Meloni P.  , Marzano S.  , Sacco R.
Published: February 2025

The article discusses the question of “security versus privacy” in terms of biometric technology as well as perinatal medicine. It does so from two different perspectives: a scientific point of view and an ethical and socio-political point of view. We argue that, on the one hand, the biometric and diagnostic methods available within the field of embryology has some considerable benefits with regard to the possible diagnosis and early treatment of diseases, offering more security for both mother and child. On the other hand however, these methods can also result in the loss of the embryo-fetus' privacy. We also discuss our proposed biometric system which is based on sequential evaluation of both the iris and the cardiovascular system from the neonatal period through adulthood.
Machine-Readable Bodies Biometrics, Informatization and Surveillance
Authors: van der Ploeg Irma
Published: February 2025

This paper sets out to give a brief overview of the most compelling ethical and social implications of biometrics. It is based on several years of research funded by the Dutch organization for scientific research (NWO), and the EC funded Support Action Biometric Identification Technologies and Ethics (BITE). First, the issue of the status of biometric data is discussed, and second, it is argued that biometrics are an instance of the wider phenomenon of the contemporary redefinition of the body in terms of information, or the informatization of the body. In the third section, the implications of the arguments so far are drawn out by highlighting the ways in which biometric applications are caught in a series of paradoxes and tensions relating to identification, social categorization, surveillance, and democratic control.
The Biometric Society – Risks and Opportunities
Authors: Bromba Manfred U.A.
Published: February 2025

The Biometric Society is defined here as a fictive future trend of the Information Society in which our daily life is dominated by biometric identification using a central database. This brings many benefits for users but at the same time enables an almost total surveillance. Already today one can observe permanently advancing data surveillance trends which are a by-product of state-of-the-art technologies and services. This kind of surveillance is claimed to be effectively usable as a measure against terrorism, although it is also suspected to favor democide. Since there is no strong proof that total surveillance is incompatible with democracy, there is little resistance against the small steps towards it. This paper also treats the technical feasibility of Biometric Society. However, the question as to whether or when Biometric Society will ever become realit goes beyond the scope of the present investigation.
Towards Empowering Design Practises
Authors: Ikonen Veikko
Published: February 2025

Design of future smart environments (and services and products included in these environments) requires agile and stakeholder involved methodologies for the greater success among targeted user populations. Furthermore the factors affecting to the design decisions in the future are sundry and in many cases frequently in conflict. Currently user and usability studies are conducted in order to get better effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction and user acceptance for new products and services. Even though the design approach is called human-centred or user-centred the design of new products and services has been quite technology or market driven in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) business. Instead of putting technology or market to the core of design process and product development the human needs and values should form the fundamental basis of design. Human Driven Design (HDD) refers to the design approach which broadens the perspective from focused product or service development process model to the more holistic design perspective. Stakeholder Based Design approach (SBD) furthermore broadens the scope and role of involved participant groups in the actual design process. Integrating HDD and SBD includes inevitably ethical assessment of design process and artifacts while trade offs in design have to be well justified. Hence HDD and SBD call for new Empowering Design (ED) practices which could accomplish more deliberative but still agile approach to design of future smart environments.
Knowledge Practices Laboratory
Authors: Babič František  , Paralič Ján  , Raček Michal  , Wagner Jozef
Published: February 2025

This paper presents some aspects of the IST project called Knowledge Practices Laboratory (KP-Lab), which aims at facilitating innovative practices of working with knowledge (knowledge practices) in education and workplaces. The project is based on the idea of trialogical learning that refers to the process where learners are collaboratively developing shared objects of activity (such as conceptual artifacts, practices, products) in systematic fashion. It is important do develop relevant flexible tools and functionalities for supporting this new innovative approach like semantic middleware with collaborative working or learning environment, etc.
Applications of Semantic Technologies in AmI
Authors: Kostelnik Peter  , Sabol Tomas  , Mach Marian
Published: February 2025

Building and running AmI applications suffers from inflexible and/or difficult to achieve interoperability of basic technological elements. Semantic technologies represent a promising approach how to enable a flexible architectures providing wide range of interoperability (e.g. service-service, service-device, service-goal, etc.). The focus of the presented paper is on incorporating these technologies into the model driven architecture approach to designing and running AmI applications. Employment of semantics is illustrated for design-time as well as run-time. Transition from physical to semantic devices enables developers to work on a higher level when designing applications. Enabling semantics in run-time provides possibility for flexible discovering and resolving.
Variability in AmI Middleware Context-Awareness Service
Authors: Fuentes Lidia  , Gámez Nadia  , Sánchez Pablo
Published: February 2025

AmI technologies are mainly based on the combination of concepts from ubiquitous and pervasive computing and the production of software embedded in everyday objects and devices, for many kind of users and supporting different applications types. A Software Product Line approach would be very appropriate to express the different requirements of either devices or applications in terms of commonalities and variabilities defining a family of AmI middleware platforms. One of the main services that an AmI middleware has to provide is the management of the context. There are several properties that affect the current context of the middleware: device constraints, applications restrictions, user preferences and runtime environment state. A feature model will help to specify and reason about the different middleware configurations tailored to either devices or application constraints. This feature model will enable different versions of a specific middleware for AmI to be generated, with the minimum number of services being required by the specific context properties.
Services provider for transport public customers based on mobile local devices
Authors: García Carmelo R.  , Alayón Francisco  , Beltramo Ezequiel  , Pérez Ricardo  , Padrón Gabino
Published: February 2025

In this article we describe a system whose purpose is to provide services, such as payment information at route, etc to the passenger public transport. The system carries out its mission integrating the mobiles local devices of the passengers (pdas and mobile telephones) and using wireless local communications (Bluetooth and Wifi IEEE 802.11). It addresses three important aspects of the system: its architecture, the scheme for implementing the applications that run on mobile devices and its security mechanisms.
Medical and Biological Aspects of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: Influence on the Population of the Republic of Moldova
Authors: Coretchi Liubov  , Bahnarel Ion
Published: February 2025

During the 1996–2004 period 850 patients, who were participants in diminishing the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident (PDCCNA), and their children, were investigated in terms of clinical, immunological and cytogenetic analyses. The clinical investigations indicate that the PDCCNA patients, when compared with patients of a control group, were more susceptible to infectious and non-infectious diseases, with the prevalence of large polymorphism of nervous, heart-vascular and gastric-intestinal system, which were accompanied by circulatory disorder of the vegetative nervous system. The immunological analysis revealed alterations in the immune system of the PDCCNA. Cytogenetic research of the lymphocyte cultures of peripheral blood of PDCCNA members living in the Republic of Moldova in the last 15–20 years after the accident, and their children, revealed the deterioration of the hereditary system, being expressed through a high level of genomic, chromosomal, and chromatid type aberration. Chromosomal type of aberrations prevailed in the adults and chromatid type in the children.
Man-Made Disaster Prevention: The Role of Risk Assessment in Development Control
Authors: Barry D.L.
Published: February 2025

The risks to human and the environment from natural hazards and man-made sources of pollution can be minimised by effective land-use planning controls that takes due account of hazards sources and their links with potential receptors. These controls can be facilitated in the first instance by the use of vulnerability maps that relate to different environmental, social or physical aspects. The effective use of risk assessment techniques is a logical part of the development control process.
International Cooperation for Emergency Warning and Prevention of Catastrophes in Kura River Basin
Authors: Sahakyan Kristine
Published: February 2025

This paper is devoted to the activities of the regional project on “Development of Cross-National Cooperation for Incident Planning in the Kura River Basin Watershed” implemented in 2003–2006. The project was funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Reactor Safety. South Caucasus countries Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan participated in the project. The main goal of the project was the development of international cooperation and exchange of international experience aimed at protection of water basins against industrial pollution and increasing industrial safety in the Kura river basin. Prior to the implementation of this project in South Caucasus, similar projects have been implemented for 3 international major transboundary rivers – the rivers Rhine, Danube and Elba, for which International Commissions for protection have been established. With the help of the checklists developed by them (covering organizational and technical measures related to industrial safety) pilot investigations were carried out in the industrial enterprises with high potential hazards to water bodies and corresponding recommendations were provided. As a result of the project an international warning and alarm plan was developed in the Kura River Basin Watershed, the purpose of which was providing information exchange among the countries if needed. Based upon the information and warning systems existing in the countries at the national level, the corresponding departments in the participant countries were charged with the responsibilities of the International main warning centres, based on the justifications represented on the allocation of warning and international communication centres in the Kura basin
Bulgarian Policy for Water Resources Management and Flood Protection
Authors: Gramatikov Plamen
Published: February 2025

Fresh water resources of Bulgaria and water management in the country are estimated and compared with other countries. The government policy, and organizational structure of the network for flood monitoring, forecasting and warning are presented in this paper, as are the types of activities and divisions of work with neighbouring countries in the framework of trans-border cooperation in this area of the Balkans.
Designing for Intimate Needs: Ambient Intelligence in a Rest Room
Authors: Panek Paul
Published: February 2025

This chapter describes research in and development of more user-friendly rest rooms which are equipped with intelligent modules based on the Ambient Intelligence (AmI) paradigm. This enables the novel rest room prototypes to partly adapt automatically to the individual needs of the person who is currently using them. The three main target groups were older people with functional limitations, people with disabilities and carers. The iterative design process applied was strongly user centred and actively involved vulnerable people in the area of intimate needs. Thus, particular care was given to consider the taboo effect and the protection of vulnerable users. Five iteratively improved rest room prototypes were designed and evaluated in a laboratory environment. A reduced prototype was also tested successfully in a day activity centre over a period of 2 months with 29 primary and 12 secondary users. It was found that the intelligent toilet prototypes were useful and able to increase the autonomy and independence of people with functional limitations. From the point of view of an engineer, the continuous involvement of users was considered to be extremely essential and necessary in this area of intimate needs. Although there was no direct involvement of people with dementia, several comments and findings of relevance for them were collected, for example, the reduction of cognitive load during use of the intelligent rest room. A basic version of the new toilet system was put on the market in 2006.
Designing Enabling Environments for People with Dementia, Their Family Carers and Formal Carers
Authors: Topo Päivi  , Kotilainen Helinä
Published: February 2025

The aim of this article is to present a model of dementia friendly environments. This model is based on the concept of affordances which refers to how the environment provides positive or negative possibilities for action and how these possibilities are actualised. By environment we mean both physical and psychosocial aspects of living environment. We present criteria for environment which is enabling and supports personhood and divide these criteria under five aspects. Because people with moderate and severe dementia are dependent on the people assisting and caring for them we present a model how the moderating role of carers and the physical and material environment are intertwined. At the end of the paper we present our empirical findings on how the features of environment and moderating role of carers are associated with wellbeing of people with dementia.
Computational Field Semantics: Acquiring an Ontological-Semantic Lexicon for a New Language
Authors: Nirenburg Sergei  , McShane Marjorie
Published: February 2025

We present a methodology and tools that facilitate the acquisition of lexical-semantic knowledge about a language L. The lexicon that results from the process described in this paper expresses the meaning of words and phrases in L using a language-independent formal ontology, the OntoSem ontology. The acquisition process benefits from the availability of an ontological-semantic lexicon for English. The methodology also addresses the task of aligning any existing computational grammar of L with the expectations of the syntax-oriented zone of the ontological-semantic lexicon. Illustrative material in this paper is presented by means of the DEKADE knowledge acquisition environment.
Applying Finite State Techniques and Ontological Semantics to Georgian
Authors: Kapanadze Oleg
Published: February 2025

In the first part of the paper application of the Finite State Tools to one of the Southern Caucasian languages – Georgian is discussed. The FST has been very popular in computational morphology and other lower-level applications in natural-language engineering. The basic claim of finite-state morphology is that a morphological analyzer for a natural language can be implemented as a data structure called a Finite State Transducer. They are bidirectional, principled, fast and compact. In Georgian, as in many non-Indo-European agglutinative languages, concatenative morphotactics is impressively productive within its rich morphology. The Georgian language lexical transducer presented is capable of producing (analyzing and generating) all theoretically possible options for the lemmata from identified 21 sets of Georgian nouns and for most of the lemmata from about 150 sets of verb constructions. The second part of the paper is devoted to application of ontological semantics to Georgian. In a general ontological semantics lexicon meanings of words and expressions are represented in terms of instances of concepts from the ontology. Each lexicon entry comprises a morphological category and its syntactic and semantic features' description. A syntactic structure reflects syntactic valency represented as a syntactic subcategorization frame of an entry. A semantic structure links the lexicon entry with the language-independent ontological-semantic static knowledge sources – the ontology and the fact database. In a Georgian version of the ontological lexicon, alongside the mentioned monolingual information, each entry is supplied with the English translation equivalents. Consequently, we consider it as a potential bilingual ontological lexicon for multilingual NLP applications. The paper covers specifics of lexicon entries' formal description in the bilingual lexicon and discuss possible solutions for “toleration” differences in morpho-syntactic structure in the framework of a Georgian-English Ontological Semantics Lexicon.
Developing Proper Name Recognition, Translation and Matching Capabilities for Low- and Middle-Density Languages
Authors: McShane Marjorie
Published: February 2025

This article discusses methods for developing proper name recognition, translation and cross-linguistic matching capabilities for any language or combination of languages in a short amount of time, with relatively minimal work by native speaker informants. Unlike much work on proper name recognition, this work is grounded in knowledge-based rather than stochastic methods, and it extends to multi-lingual and multi-script name processing.
Homeward Bound: Assessing the Geopolitical Ramifications of Sprawl
Authors: Gillem Mark L.
Published: February 2025

In building its global network of military bases, the US Department of Defense has followed a low-density development model commonly known as sprawl. Sprawl is the norm across the US and on US bases, from Misawa Japan to Aviano Italy. In this chapter, I show how the US is exporting this familiar development pattern to the frontlines. I also outline a seven-point model for sprawl that the military uses to create its inefficient installations. Unfortunately, the US is largely ignoring the environmental, economic and geo-political costs of sprawl and, as a result, is turning allies into opponents.
New Bases, Old Politics: the Rise and Decline of the US Military Presence in Central Asia
Authors: Cooley Alexander
Published: February 2025

Under the Pentagon's current Global Defense Posture Review (GDPR), the United States is establishing a global network of smaller base facilities in new areas such as Central Asia, the Black Sea and Africa. Drawing upon recent evidence from the base hosts of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, this chapter cautions that these new US overseas bases, despite their lighter footprint, risk becoming enmeshed in the local political agenda of the host country elites, who may challenge the legitimacy of the foreign basing presence. These are important lessons for NATO planners who simultaneously seek to promote democratisation while they negotiate base access agreements with politically volatile hosts.
Operation Lamachus: the Holy Loch US Nuclear Base and the Dangers of Local Radiation Pollution
Authors: Dobson Alan P.
Published: February 2025

On 1 November 1960 British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan announced that the British Government would provide land on the Holy Loch in Scotland for the USA to establish facilities for Polaris nuclear submarines. The base brought more security for the West as a whole, but it also posed dangers for the Holy Loch area. One of those dangers was the threat to the local population from radiation pollution from the submarine nuclear propulsion systems. The main focus of this paper is how those dangers and actual pollution incidents were handled by British officialdom.
US Military Bases and the Rehabilitation of West Germany in the 1950s
Authors: Baker Anni
Published: February 2025

This chapter begins with a description of tensions between Germans and Americans during the occupation era, then discusses the development of official German-American friendship in the 1950s. Friendship activities suggested that Germans and Americans shared a common culture, that they were partners in preserving world peace, and that each had something to teach the other. While friendship activities did not represent the entirety of German-American experience, they did reveal how the two communities wished to portray their relationship. By emphasising equality and partnership, German-American friendship activities helped transform West Germany from a defeated enemy to a valuable ally.
A Mechanical Press Controller Development
Authors: Abrial J.R.
Published: February 2025

In this text, we present a complete development with Event-B [1] [2] [3]: a mechanical press. The intention is to show how this can be done in a systematic fashion in order to obtain correct final code. In section 1, we present an informal description of this system. In section 2, we develop two general patterns [4] that we shall subsequently use. The development of these patterns will be made by using the proofs as a mean of discovering the invariants and the guards of the events. In section 3, we define the requirement document in a more precise fashion by using the terminology developed in the definition of the patterns. The main development of the mechanical press will take place in further sections where more design patterns will be presented.
Incremental Design of Distributed Systems with Event-B
Authors: Butler Michael
Published: February 2025

It is shown how Event-B can be use to model and reason about distributed systems from a high-level global view down to a detailed distributed architectural view. It is shown how refinement and decomposition can be used to introduce distribution of state and control and to introduce message passing between components. Distribution is treated as a special case of concurrency. Techniques are presented for decomposing abstract atomic events into smaller atomic steps in refinement and for decomposing models into sub-models.
Unifying Theories of Undefinedness
Authors: Woodcock Jim  , Saaltink Mark  , Freitas Leo
Published: February 2025

We propose a unifying theory of undefined expressions in logics used for formally specifying software systems. We show how to use classical logic to prove facts in a monotonic partial logic with guards, and we exhibit guards for several different semantical systems. We show how classical logic can be used to prove semi-classical facts. The mechanical theorem prover Z/Eves is used to prove facts about semi-classical Z specifications, although it uses classical logic; it does this with guards from McCarthy logic. It can also be used to prove facts about VDM specifications. The use of left-to-right guards guarantees, for example, that every theorem proved in Z/Eves is valid in VDM and in Z.
Relating Time and Causality in Interactive Distributed Systems
Authors: Broy Manfred
Published: February 2025

For digital interactive distributed systems the timing of their events and the causality between their events are key issues. In real time applications of embedded software systems timing properties are essential such as response times of reactions depending on the precise timing of the input events.
Investissement des binationaux au Maroc: opportunités, contraintes et perspectives
Authors: Ezzouak Mohamed
Published: February 2025

Le profil social de la communauté marocaine à l'étranger a considérablement changé ces dernières décennies. D'une population essentiellement ouvrière, masculine, analphabète issue des contrées rurales du Maroc, nous avons aujourd'hui une communauté multicarte : 1èregénération, binationaux, femmes, enfants, chef d'entreprises, cadres, fonctionnaires, ouvriers, artistes, ... C'est dans cette nouvelle dynamique que doit être appréhendé la transformation des flux financiers entre le Maroc et les pays d'accueil.
Le tourisme, les diasporas et le co-développement en Méditerranée
Authors: Lanquar Robert
Published: February 2025

Le tourisme est aujourd'hui un des premiers moteurs de l'économie dans le monde.La Méditerranée représente un tiers des flux mondiaux : il y a eu, en 2006, plus de 842 millions d'arrivées de touristes internationaux dans le monde, sans compter le milliard et demi de touristes visitant ou en vacances dans leur propre pays. Dans le total méditerranéen, les déplacements des diasporas seraient de plus de 10%, c'est-à-dire environ 35 millions de personnes de la première ou deuxième génération, sans compter un tourisme ethnique ou de pèlerinage interrégional vers Israël ou l'Arabie Saoudite, de l'ordre de 3 à 4 millions.Sources : extrapolations de l'auteur à partir des données de l'OMT et des instituts de statistiques nationales d'Espagne, France, Italie, Chypre, Turquie.
Ethnic and Binational Entrepreneurs as Economic Bridges Between North and South
Authors: Justo Rachida
Published: February 2025

The main purpose of this article is to launch the debate on the important issue of ethnic minority entrepreneurs.My working definition of ethnic minority entrepreneurs is that of entrepreneurs who are either immigrants or have an immigrant background.
The Economic Mobility of Binationals
Authors: Almeras Guillaume
Published: February 2025

Foreign currency transfers made by Maghrebin binationals represent large amounts: nearly 8 billion euros, from which nearly 5 billion euros go to Morocco. These transfers are increasing and the use of these funds is not organized, varying from a financial support to their families in the countries of origin to invest in real estate. These flows can contribute to the development of the region.
Harnessing Positive Experience from Other Countries to the North African Model: Rhodesia
Authors: Kantharia Mehboob Ismail
Published: February 2025

The implication of skilled binationals in their home countries can help the development. With their know-how and experience they are a tool of economic prosperity.
Harnessing Positive Experience from Other Countries to the North African Model: Malawi
Authors: Dassu Ahmed
Published: February 2025

The promotion of security, economic prosperity and efficient and accountable government in the countries of North Africa, as a basis for providing security in Europe and North America is essential, but this can only be brought about by the democratisation of these countries, in which the bi-nationals have an important role to play. The experience of Malawi can be a model.
Draw on the Positive Experiences of Dual Nationals to Adopt a Strategy
Authors: Bouod Hassan
Published: February 2025

The author draws on his personal experience, as a bi-national Franco-Moroccan, and professional, as a company director, to suggest solutions that will allow dual nationals to be visible in society and be actors of development in their countries of origin. According to him, it passes through the development of structured and extended networks.