bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Complexity of National Security
Authors: Matika Dario  , Srbljinović Armano
Published: February 2025

If we conceptualise society as a complex system, we may observe that its complexity arises from a multitude of its constituent elements – individuals, groups, organisational units, etc. - and from a multitude of their interconnections. Moreover, these interrelations are themselves complex in a sense that the “state” of each element depends not only on its previous state, but also on a complex combination of previous states of many other elements. Yet more, humans build their own perceptions of various dependencies between a social system’s elements, which affect further development of these dependencies, which, in turn, may influence the very perceptions. We argue that this complex-systems-view-of-society may help us better understand the often-cited “ambiguity” of the notion of security, as well as the shifts of foci of security concerns, such as the one that marked the ending of the Cold War. While, during the Cold War period, the focus of security concerns was at the national or the state level, after the end of the Cold War, the focus moved to the sub-state, the group and the individual level, as well as to the supra-state and the global level. What had previously been regarded as “monolithic” national security, now became a more diffuse and ambiguous concept with multiple meanings. The task of an analyst in those new circumstances became much harder. Instead of “monolithic” states with mutually conflicting, but structurally similar national interests, analysts of the post-Cold-War world have been confronted with much greater heterogeneity of identities and interests of multitudes of individual and group actors. In contrast with a few relatively simple inter-dependencies between the Cold War states, based mostly on mutual balance of military power, multiple interindividual and intergroup ties have spanned multiple dimensions, being subject to incessant commotion and change. In contrast to passive, inanimate states, the “new security environment” abounds with perceptive human subjects, capable of influencing current and constructing ever new, yet unanticipated realities. The new security environment requires new, more adequate methods of studying and analysis. We argue for the methods of complex systems research to provide these much needed new tools. The arguments that we provide are general, pointing to the more concrete examples of application of complex systems methods to particular security challenges and opportunities, which are further discussed as part of the remaining contributions to this workshop.
Exploring Complexity: Agent-Based Social Simulations
Authors: Margitay-Becht András
Published: February 2025

Anthropology, economics, sociology, political science and the crossover social sciences base their research on some simpler or more complex model of the individual and the society. These models, depending on their complexity, focus on matching real-world behaviors in one aspect or another, and are usually designed for a specific purpose. This, however, can cause problems when we try to create a general model. The problem is most noticeable in case of economics: “micro” models describe the individual, or maybe smaller decision making-units (families, extended families, etc.), but these fail to integrate into a larger model of society. Conversely, “macro” models depict the behavior of states or countries, yet usually are unrealistic in their representation of the individual. The paper suggests that by using agent-based computer simulation the distance between micro and macro approaches can be significantly reduced. Instead of using an elaborate symbolic modeling scheme, agent-based simulation will be introduced that on the micro level will contain independent agents whose behavior mimics that of real individuals, whereas the emergent system will match that of observed macro-behavior. To demonstrate the workings of this approach, a series of case studies will be explored that will guide the reader through the construction of a simulated world, research practices in these simulations, and the possible far-reaching results the approach can bring.
Russia-NATO Partnership at the Crossroads
Authors: Sokolova Polina
Published: February 2025

The article tackles the problem of Russia-NATO relations at this moment of unpredictability with the emergence of new security threats and the ongoing crisis of identity within both parties involved. On the one hand, such circumstances impose additional complexity on the process of mutual adjustment. On the other hand, however, it could turn out to be the optimal time for rapprochement. Positively evaluating recent initiatives from both sides, this contribution analyses the persisting mutual doubts, misperceptions and policies that prevent the dialogue from moving forward. The author cites a few suggestions about how to develop NATO-Russian cooperation, with a strong emphasis on confidence-building measures both at the high political/military level and at the level of public diplomacy from the angle of engaging the future generation in a constructive Russia-NATO dialogue.
The Sense of National Belonging as a Buffer against Stress Resulting from National Terror: Some Possible Inferences Regarding the Sense of Not-Belonging
Authors: Shamai Michal
Published: February 2025

The significant role of the sense of national belonging in coping with stress created by national terror was found in several studies (for example: Possick, Sadeh & Shamai; Ritov, 2009; Ron & Shamai, In process, Shamai & Ron, 2009). The findings, which are briefly described in the first part of the paper, emphasize national identification as a meaning that people assign to the loss or stress created by the terrorist attacks. This is followed by a discussion of the possible impacts of the absence of such a sense of national belonging within immigrant societies. The last part focuses on directions for further research that will enrich our understanding of processes that encourage violent political activities against the absorbing society and processes that increase acculturation possibilities within the absorbing society.
The Principle of Distinction: Blurring Civilians and Soldiers
Authors: Ergas Yasmine
Published: February 2025

This paper focuses on the illegal aspect of terrorism. What is it that makes a specific act of force illegal? On the international plane, while there are significant debates, there is also a common understanding that legally the use of force is strictly limited. The requirements for legality regard both the approach to war -- the way in which war is started -- and the conduct of war. Terrorism fails on both those counts. The definition of acts of terrorism currently being debated describes three basic aspects a) are unlawful, b) inflict serious damage (i.e. death or serious bodily injury to a person), and c) are intended to intimidate a population or compel a government or international organization to engage in (or refrain from) a particular course of action. Thus, the war on terror erases the distinction differently than did theories of total war. It does so by explicitly equating terrorists with warriors – and then implicitly with soldiers. But isn't that exactly what the terrorists themselves are claiming?
Automated protein structure determination from NMR data
Authors: Güntert Peter
Published: February 2025

Three-dimensional structures of proteins in solution can be calculated on the basis of conformational restraints derived from NMR measurements. This chapter gives an overview of the computational methods pertinent to NMR protein structure analysis. The most widely used algorithms based on simulated annealing by molecular dynamics simulation in torsion angle space and the automated assignment of NOE distance restraints are presented, as well as non-classical approaches and fully automated NMR protein structure analysis.
NMR Screening Methods for Drug Discovery
Authors: Shortridge Matthew D.  , Powers Robert
Published: February 2025

Drug discovery is a challenging endeavor with a high failure rate. This is further complicated by the fact that each disease has its own unique set of obstacles to developing a safe and effective therapy. Flexible and robust analytical methods are critical for efficiently solving these issues, where nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) plays an important role in nearly every stage of the drug discovery process. This review will highlight recent developments in the application of NMR as a screening tool for drug discovery that includes: library design, various ligand-affinity screening techniques, rapid determination of protein-ligand co-structures, and the functional annotation of proteins to the discovery of new therapeutic targets.
NMR and Calorimetry of Biological Systems
Authors: Mittermaier Anthony  , Farber Patrick
Published: February 2025

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) provide different, yet highly complementary views of biomolecular dynamics and energetics. NMR quantifies internal motions over a wide range of time scales with atomic resolution. Calorimetry is extremely sensitive to the energetics of conformational transitions and macromolecular interactions. Together, they can yield detailed, quantitative descriptions of biomolecular function that are inaccessible to any of the techniques alone. This Chapter outlines the ITC, DSC and several NMR dynamics methodologies, and gives an overview of selected applications that highlight the potential of combining NMR and calorimetry.
The Role of Ethnic Albanian OC Rings in the Trafficking and Smuggling of Human Beings. An international, Regional and Local Perspective
Authors: Tabaku Arben
Published: February 2025

Located on the Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe, with perfect situation bridging East and West, with more than 3/4 of the country mountainous, with about 40% of the land forested, with access to Adriatic and Ionian Seas, and proximity to Italy and Greece, Albania after the fall of Communist regime and opening of borders became a haven for different types of trafficking. Some of the reasons of the sudden outburst of Albanian criminality are the disruption of the Italian Mafia's activities providing opportunities for other ethnic based crime groups, the development of the sense of collective identity of Albanians, particularly Kosovars, required for these groups to mobilize their activities, fueled further by a perception of rejection abroad and isolation, and the process of democratization that began later in Albania, with its unfortunate by-product, an increasing level of crime. Trafficking of women and children became a major issue from the 1990s. In the period between 1997, after the breakdown of the pyramid schemes, and 2001, Albanian organized crime groups operating in Western Europe reached their peak. Nowadays, Albanian OC groups continue to be involved in trafficking and smuggling of human beings. Albania is not anymore an important transit or destination country, however, it remains an origin country of trafficking of young women for sexual exploitation.
Transnational Criminal Networks and Trade in Human Beings
Authors: Lebini Lorenzo
Published: February 2025

Trafficking in human beings is run by transnational criminal networks formed by heterogeneous and interethnic criminal aggregates with a different level of specialisation, functional to the implementation of different phases of the migrants trafficking.
Italian Perspective on Russian, Bulgarian and Ukrainian Criminal Networks
Authors: De Ficchy Luigi
Published: February 2025

The experience derived from investigations on criminal networks with “Russian pattern” invite to consider the trafficking of persons as a unitary phenomenon operated by transnational criminal networks. If each target offence (exploitation of prostitution, enslavement, forgery of identity papers and visas, smuggling of migrants) is considered by itself, we miss the transnational and structurally associative nature of the trafficking. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid the subdivision of crimes and roles played by the single participants which lead to poor results in the action against the criminal networks managing the trafficking and maintain there cores always operational.
Predicting Daily Physical Activity in a Lifestyle Intervention Program
Authors: Long Xi  , Pauws Steffen  , Pijl Marten  , Lacroix Joyca  , Goris Annelies H.  , Aarts Ronald M.
Published: February 2025

The growing number of people adopting a sedentary lifestyle these days creates a serious need for effective physical activity promotion programs. Often, these programs monitor activity, provide feedback about activity and offer coaching to increase activity. Some programs rely on a human coach who creates an activity goal that is tailored to the characteristics of a participant. Throughout the program, the coach motivates the participant to reach his personal goal or adapt the goal, if needed. Both the timing and the content of the coaching are important for the coaching. Insights on the near future state on, for instance, behaviour and motivation of a participant can be helpful to realize an effective proactive coaching style that is personalized in terms of timing and content. As a first step towards providing these insights to a coach, this chapter discusses results of a study on predicting daily physical activity level (PAL) data from past data of participants in a lifestyle intervention program. A mobile body-worn activity monitor with a built-in triaxial accelerometer was used to record PAL data of a participant for a period of 13 weeks. Predicting future PAL data for all days in a given period was done by employing autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models on the PAL data from days in the period before. By using a newly proposed categorized-ARIMA (CARIMA) prediction method, we achieved a large reduction in computation time without a significant loss in prediction accuracy in comparison with traditional ARIMA models. In CARIMA, PAL data are categorized as stationary, trend or seasonal data by assessing their autocorrelation functions. Then, an ARIMA model that is most appropriate to these three categories is automatically selected based on an objective penalty function criterion. The results show that our CARIMA method performs well in terms of PAL prediction accuracy (~9% mean absolute percentage error), model parsimony and robustness.
Satellite Monitoring for Desertification Forecasting and Prevention
Authors: Popov Mikhail A.  , Stankevich Sergey A.  , Kozlova Anna A.  , Luk'yanchuk Igor  , Mezzane Daoud  , El Bah Menny Ould
Published: February 2025

Desertification is a global issue, with serious implications for worldwide ecological security. Early and valid desertification process monitoring and forecasting are essential for effective prevention. The possibilities, general methodology and implementation methods of satellite monitoring for desertification forecasting and prevention are considered.
Means of Risk Reduction Due to Abrupt Changes in Hydro-Meteorological Conditions Caused by Global Warming in Armenia
Authors: Khachatryan Dimitri A.  , Stepanyan Vilen E.  , Avagyan Arman A.  , Begoyan Aram Kh.
Published: February 2025

Global climate change has resulted in the development of dangerous natural processes, such as floods and inundation of land, landslides, mudflows and erosion. Annually, thousands are victims of floods and the damage to socio-economic structures reaches ten of billions US dollars (IBRD, 2003). Flooding has also caused considerable damage estimated at hundreds of billions US dollars to the regions of Southern Caucasus such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia (2003-2010). Over ten thousand dwellings were flooded and victims were recorded. In Armenia numerous reservoirs were threatened and water leakage could cause unpredictable consequences. Enduring storm rains of spring 2010, and the consequent high water levels, led to floods and landslips. The development of methods for forecasting possible catastrophic flooding caused by high water levels, the estimation of hazards and risks from these negative processes that influence the countries and their populations, as well as for implementing preventive steps to warn or minimize destructive consequences, must be considered one of the major tasks. Modern scientific exercise by the Rescue Service of Armenia, under the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia (RSA MES RA) in this area, foresaw the creation of conditions for runoff equalization within the whole water basin, which can be carried out by complex actions in the main nodes of a hydro-technical network of protective facilities and runoff control systems. Technical-organizational actions could be one of the alternatives of the methods mentioned above.
Methodological Aspects of Hazard and Risk Assessments Based on the Establishment of Integrated Graphical Systems for Monitoring Natural and Man-Made Systems
Authors: Stepanyan V.E.  , Avagyan A.  , Arakelyan D.
Published: February 2025

The concept of building up the territory's safety, based on hazard and risk assessments of the three variable elements, is considered, as is the installation impact on the environment and the relevant hazards. The important factor is the entire and timely supply of information concerning the natural-technogenous environmental conditions on the basis of the controls over the variability of natural and technical properties of the various installations within the investigated areas, and the formation of natural hazard databases within the limits of modern geo-information technologies, such as GIS. Features of the total monitoring over the organizational structure for an assessment of hazards and risks are represented in an example of a local area network in the field of building and operation of the mining industry companies.
Electromagnetic-Acoustic Transducers Modeling in Time Domain Using the Finite Element Method
Authors: Ziolkowski Marcin  , Gratkowski Stanislaw
Published: February 2025

In contemporary non-destructive inspections Electromagnetic-Acoustic Transducers (EMATs) become more and more attractive alternative in comparison to conventional contact piezoelectric sensors. Such a technique does not require a mechanical coupling and inspection can be performed in the presence of an insulation or coating. Another advantage is the possibility of inspecting in higher temperature environments. In this paper we discuss different aspects of chosen configurations of Electromagnetic-Acoustic Transducers. Numerical modeling was carried out for two types of shear horizontal wave EMATs, i.e. Periodic Permanent Magnets EMAT and Meander-Line Coil EMAT, placed on conducting and nonmagnetic plate. Preliminary signal analysis based on 2D FFT has been introduced.
Modeling and Signal Processing Sensor Tilt in Eddy Current-GMR Inspection
Authors: Yang G.  , Zeng Z.  , Udpa L.  , Udpa S.S.
Published: February 2025

In any NDE application, the availability of a theoretical model is very useful in understanding the capability of the system since it can enable the visualization of field/flaw interaction for different flaw and sensor geometries. A numerical model capable of simulating inspection of multi-layered structures using eddy current excitation and magneto-resistive sensing is developed to predict 2D image data of rivet locations. The model is used to study particularly the effect of sensor tilt on the probability of detection (POD) of defects at rivet sites. The modeling of sensor-tilt during inspection around rivet sites has to take into account finite source coil and meshing of the finite source coil at each scan position. This paper presents a finite element (FE) model formulation using reduced magnetic vector potential and electric scalar potential in a way that does not require meshing source coils. In addition to simulating the effect of sensor tilt on the signal, this paper also describes features in the signal that are invariant to sensor tilt but sensitive to defect parameters.
Efficient Propagation of Uncertainty in Simulations Via the Probabilistic Collocation Method
Authors: Knopp Jeremy S.  , Aldrin John C.  , Blodgett Mark P.
Published: February 2025

Eddy current models have matured to such a degree that it is now possible to simulate realistic nondestructive inspection (NDI) scenarios. Models have been used in the design and analysis of NDI systems and to a limited extent, model-based inverse methods for Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE). The science base is also being established to quantify the reliability of systems via Model-Assisted Probability of Detection (MAPOD). In realistic situations, it is more accurate to treat the input model variables as random variables rather than deterministic quantities. Typically a Monte-Carlo simulation is conducted to predict the output of a model when the inputs are random variables. This is a reasonable approach as long as computational time is not too long; however, in most applications, introducing a flaw into the model results in extensive computational time ranging from hours to days, prohibiting Monte-Carlo simulations. Even methods such as Latin-Hypercube sampling do not reduce the number of simulations enough for reasonable use. This paper presents the Probabilistic Collocation Method as a non-intrusive alternative to other uncertainty propagation techniques.
Automatic Detection and Identification of Image Quality Indicators in Radiograms
Authors: Baniukiewicz Piotr  , Sikora Ryszard
Published: February 2025

In this paper the authors focus on detection of wire image quality indicators, which are widely applied in industrial radiography. Two algorithms for IQI detection are proposed. The first algorithm is intended for fast and rough detection of position of IQIs. It is based on evaluation of correlation between the radiographic image of IQI (together with a plastic case) and the fragments of the analyzed radiogram. The second algorithm uses the Radon transform applied to the region of interest (ROI) obtained from the first algorithm to extract the exact position of wires as well as information on visibility of each wire.
Pulsed ECT Method for Evaluation of Pipe Wall-thinning of Nuclear Power Plants using Magnetic Sensor
Authors: Xie Shejuan  , Yamamoto Toshihiro  , Takagi Toshiyuki  , Uchimoto Tetsuya
Published: February 2025

In nuclear power plants, there may happen local wall-thinning on the inner surface of a pipe due to the flow of coolant flowing inside the pipe. Pulsed eddy current testing (pulsed ECT) technology is developed in recent years. Because of its rich frequency components and applicability of large electric current, a pulsed ECT method may show promising capability of detecting and evaluating the defect in the deep region of the material. The aim of this study is to discuss the feasibility of detection and evaluation of local wall-thinning of the bottom surface in one thick layer and also in the lower layer of two-layer structure pipe using a pulsed ECT method. Concerning the large thickness of the specimen, a high sensitive flux gate (FG) sensor has been employed and the corresponding differential exciting mode has been developed to efficiently apply the FG sensor. Experimental results show that this FG sensor combined with differential exciting mode could detect a very small defect that is located in a thick specimen while which could not be detected by Hall sensor.
Evaluation of EMAT signals using magnetostrictives for imaging
Authors: Nishimura Yoshihiro  , Sasamoto Akira  , Suzuki Takayuki
Published: February 2025

Electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) is a means of contact-free nondestructive testing (NDT). They are useful for high-speed scanning of inspection materials or for scanning high temperature materials. EMATs have internal permanent magnets that induce a strong magnetic field in the inspected materials. They employ pulsing current to induce eddy currents on the surface of inspected materials and generates an ultrasound signal by Lorenz force or by magnetostrictive effect in the inspected material. The ultrasound signals propagate to and are reflected from the edge of the inspected material or flaws. The EMAT probe then acquires a time series of echo signals as the output, similar to those derived by piezoelectric transducers. However, the time series of data derived by the EMAT probe is too noisy due to the Barkhausen effect to identify reflections from internal flows, unlike the time series of data derived by the piezoelectric probe. We employed a low-pass filter method and Z-direction averaging method to decrease the Bartkhausen noise and compared them.
Applicability of Magnetic Flux Leakage Method for Wall Thinning Monitoring in Nuclear Power Plants
Authors: Kikuchi Hiroaki  , Shimizu Isamu  , Ara Katsuyuki  , Kamada Yasuhiro  , Kobayashi Satoru
Published: February 2025

This paper presents an applicability of magnetic flux leakage (MFL) method for a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of wall thinning in nuclear power plants. Since MFL method has already been applied to other industry field, this method should be an effective tool in nuclear power plants. The ancillary yoke poles were employed to adapt to the piping shape, and higher sensitivity was achieved to estimate the depth in a slit on piping. The distribution of magnetic flux density corresponding with profile of wall thinning depth was also obtained. Additionally, an applicability of MFL method for probing a slit fabricated on superposed specimens was investigated.
A Thin-Skin Model for Eddy-Current NDE of Cracks in a Borehole
Authors: Burke S.K.
Published: February 2025

Eddy-current induction by a coaxial circular air-cored coil in a cracked borehole is considered in the limit of small electromagnetic skin depth. A closed form expression is derived for the change in coil impedance ΔZ due to a long axial crack with constant depth and opening based on an extension of the Lewis extended surface impedance boundary conditions to a cylindrical geometry. The theoretical predictions are compared with experimental measurement of ΔZ for a series of boreholes containing wire-cut slots in 2024 Al alloy test specimens. The model predictions were in good agreement with experiment for smaller slot depths, with the accuracy tending to decrease as the slot depth increased. In all cases, the predictions were superior to those based on a simple Born approximation.
Propositions for the Analysis of Commutation Phenomena of Universal Motors Using the State Function Method
Authors: Akiyama Yuji  , Niwa Yuta
Published: February 2025

The universal motors of our advanced research use FEM simulations to perform modeling of universal motors rotating at ultrahigh speed, by using the like state function method with respect to the details regarding the commutation scintillation or arc phenomenon of the commutators, the air gap surface, and its contact condition of the brushes. As a result, at the design stage, the commutation scintillation phenomenon was quantitatively estimated and an investigation was performed with respect to the configuration of the iron core. Furthermore, an example of this modeling method based on FEM analysis was performed with regard to the electromotive force of the transformer effect, the armature reaction and the scintillation voltage including the contact resistance of the brushes resulting from the rotation, the configuration of the iron core, and the changes in the gap permeance. Regarding the validity of this analysis, an extremely close match was attained between the results of the present simulation and the experimental results. In this regard, the targeted model motor was a 1.5 kW, 33,000rpm ultrahigh-speed, high-capacity universal motor for cleaners.
Involvement of Users and Practitioners in Anticipating Future Usage with Design Models
Authors: Rooden Theo
Published: February 2025

User involved usability assessments during design processes improve the quality of the final product. These assessments take place with design models (e.g. drawings or foam models). Empirical studies yielded methodological recommendations. The design models should represent relevant characteristics of the design, such as innovative aspects, and designed use cues. Interactivity of the models is key, but this can already be achieved with a series of simple drawings. To get lifelike interactions during the user trials, participants should be given meaningful tasks, and they should be encouraged to use all means of expression, such as thinking aloud and gesturing. Furthermore, research showed that the involved practitioners make or break the assessment. Important factors are their observation sensitivity and their judgmental skills in filtering out artificial problems. They should also understand the limitations of these user trials in the lab, and combine them with other methods of user research.
Health Data Security Issues
Authors: Mantas John  , Liaskos Joseph
Published: February 2025

Health data are considered as personal and sensitive. The storage, process, access and communication of health data through health information systems, require appropriate methods that will ensure their privacy, confidentiality, integrity and other aspects of security. Methods to provide security are part of most computer systems, but healthcare systems are distinguished by having especially complex considerations for the use and release of information. Availability, accountability, authentication, authorization, perimeter definition, role-limited access control are key functions that need to be considered, Different types of information kept in the health care records have different rules for release, as determined by laws and by institutional policy following legal and ethical considerations.
iARM improves Quality of Life; the Results of a Redesign of the Assistive Robotic Manipulator (Arm)
Authors: Stuyt Harry J.A.  , Römer GertWillem R.B.E.
Published: February 2025

The well known, wheelchair mounted, Rehabilitation Robot “Assistive Robotic Manipulator” (ARM) assists disabled people with a severe handicap at their upper limbs. This paper presents and discusses the technical redesign of the ARM, which resulted in the new robot named iARM. The improved efficiency and effectiveness of the iARM is demonstrated by experiments.
Wheelchair survey at an aged-care nursing home
Authors: Sekikawa Shinya
Published: February 2025

In this study, we investigated the wheelchairs used for older people who live in aged-care nursing home to clarify the current problems with using wheelchairs in this setting. We measured the fit between the sizes of the wheelchair and the physical dimensions of the older people. We conducted a research of 61 participants who had used wheelchairs on a daily basis and could not move around without them. We measured the wheelchair sizes and the physical dimensions of the participants by the Wheelchair Measure Set, and compared measured data with the recommended value stipulated by the special interest group (SIG) of a rehabilitation engineering society of Japan. The main purpose of using wheelchairs were to move around (98%), sitting (93%), and eating (90%). The mean daily usage of wheelchair was 9.9 ± 4.0 hours, and maximal score was 16 hours. Over 80% of the participants had used wheelchairs that were provided by the aged-care nursing home. Most of the wheelchairs were lacking in adjustable functions, and additionally about half of the wheelchairs did not have enough air or had flat tires. In terms of the fit between the wheelchair sizes and physical dimensions of the older people, most of the wheelchairs were much bigger than the recommended sizes. Therefore, older people who live in aged-care nursing home spent much of their day in poorly fitting wheelchairs that were provided by the facility.
Developing assistive technologies for an advanced inhome-medical care system by 2025 in Japan
Authors: Shigetoh Kazuhiro
Published: February 2025

In order to develop assistive technologies for an advanced inhomemedical care system, the Japanese government has established several projects. The project “Acceleration of a Social Returns on Research Achievements” is a five-year project that began in 2008. The aim is to accelerate society's realization of returns on research funding by integrating some of the technologies that are expected to reach their implementation stage in the near future and promoting integrated experimental studies as well as ‘institutional’ reforms. A second project to create “Innovative Technology” started in 2009. To launch this project, an “Innovative Technology Promotion Fund” was established for the specific promotion of “Innovative Technology” that will enable prompt, mobile investments to be made in research and development, regardless of the government ministry responsible. This fund is hoped to strengthen the connection to the private sector, and build a system using all our national resources. The third project, “Super Special Consortia” System, was established to support the development of cutting-edge medical care, using pharmaceutical consults in its earliest stages, efficient research fund management and structural reforms. The five research areas were identified, such as iPS cell application, regenerative medicine, innovative medical instruments, innovative biotechnology-based drugs and other important medicines, and 24 research projects were selected to be promoted by the Super Special Consortia System.
The Staircase to Terrorism: A Psychological Exploration
Authors: Moghaddam Fathali M.
Published: February 2025

To foster a more in-depth understanding of the psychological processes leading to terrorism, the author conceptualizes the terrorist act as the final step on a narrowing staircase. Although the vast majority of people, even when feeling deprived and unfairly treated, remain on the ground floor, some individuals climb up and are eventually recruited into terrorist organizations. These individuals believe they have no effective voice in society, are encouraged by leaders to displace aggression onto out-groups, and become socialized to see terrorist organizations as legitimate and out-group members as evil. The current policy of focusing on individuals already at the top of the staircase brings only short-term gains. The best long-term policy against terrorism is prevention, which is made possible by nourishing contextualized democracy on the ground floor.
Modeling Security
Authors: Gere François  , Hadjovic Denis  , Rodin David  , Samaan JL
Published: February 2025

Because security is central to humankind, societies and other organized groups, the notion has different meanings, depending on history, geography, culture and the nature of governments. Therefore it would be presumptuous and vain to pretend to lock the notion of security into a single dogmatic definition which would be immediately challenged by many others. A universal definition could be provided only by hard science which in that realm seems to be irrelevant or by a universal agreement among all the parties involved, still in limbo. Therefore, we will consider security from two empirical points of view linked by the notion of contract: political and economic. Security is not a scholarly discipline in itself with full recognition and a systematic presence in the traditional academic community. As a domain, security needs to be expanded far beyond the military and law enforcement domains, not just in order to counter current international terrorist activities in-depth but also to meet all the other requirements. Here we need historians, anthropologists, and others to do research and offer usable conclusions for a better understanding of security. If indeed we may assume that the demand for security has always existed, it is clear that it has dramatically expanded along with the evolution of human societies and the globalization of human activities. Modeling, elaboration of new models and the combining of models are needed. The initial exploratory workshop was dedicated to those matters. As a first step for further inquiry, we have limited ourselves to a general descriptive statement, not a normative definition. Security appears as “the ability to live, work and prosper on a daily basis. It is the main duty of the State to provide security both internal and external to each member of the collectivity/community of citizens”. Conversely, individuals who have agreed to enter into a society should assume their responsibility in order to contribute to their own security, the organization of which is provided by the State.
A Terrorism Overview: History and Causes
Authors: Sütalan Zeynep
Published: February 2025

Terrorism has been on the world scene for ages. It is not something new or unaccustomed. Terrorism breeds in any environment it can. Thus, it is hard to identify one specific cause or few that result in terrorism. Different types of terrorism in different cases can derive from different causes. Despite the difficulty in identifying causes of terrorism, a comprehensive approach towards the political, social and economic environment where terrorism is likely to flourish may result in fruitful outcomes for combating terrorism. Within this context, this article aims to provide a general framework for understanding the history and causes of terrorism rather than proposing methods to cope with them.
Strategic Communications for Combating Terrorism
Authors: Öncü A. Aykut
Published: February 2025

This paper discusses the role and place of strategic communications in combating terrorism. The paper outlines what strategic communications is and argues that strategic communications must be regarded as a fundamental element for all efforts in combating terrorism. Mutual understanding and listening will help us to understand real causes of problems and show the way to solve them.
Education for Emergency Management Based on Multimedia Information Systems
Authors: Savić Suzana  , Nikolić Vesna  , Vasović Dejan
Published: February 2025

Emergencies are events which disturb regular operations of services and companies, endanger human lives, natural and material wealth (the environment), and represent a threat to stability (sustainability) of local, national, and global development. The analysis of emergency service response (to accidents, breakdowns, and natural disasters) in Serbia and worldwide indicates certain flaws, both in organisation and methodology of emergency response. Therefore, it is necessary to develop decision-making support systems founded on multimedia technology and education and training for emergency management. Emergency management systems have a set of features which distinguish them from classic management systems. This primarily refers to functional modes, organisational structure, type of information, and management goals and criteria. Therefore, the development of these systems should be based on IT which will enable their adequate, efficient, and effective work. In this paper, a systemic approach is promoted and the role of formal and informal education for emergency management is considered. We deem these considerations necessary in order to gain a more comprehensive view on education as an element of emergency management and on the possibilities that IT and inter-sectoral cooperation offer and open for acquiring, innovating, and disseminating knowledge in this field.
Jimmy: Searching for Free-Will (A Competition)
Authors: Egerton Simon  , Davies Marc  , Johnson Brian  , Callaghan Victor
Published: February 2025

In this invited paper we describe a competition that aims to engage a wide section of society in the exploration of the future nature of technology. In particular the competition will examine one of the most controversial aspects of Artificial Intelligence, specifically the concept of freewill. What is freewill? Can machines achieve it? What are the consequences for society should that happen? These are just some of the tantalising questions that flow from such a vision. For this competition, we roll back to a more basic stage and explore the basic issues of trying to construct a robot controller that displays behaviour that is analogous to freewill. We do this by offering a set of online tools that enable participants in the competition to create a bespoke controller for a simulated robot “Jimmy”; a waiter working in a futuristic bar set in a virtual world. This paper explains the motivation, design, implementation and rules for this competition
Living the Past in the Future
Authors: Bostanci Erkan  , Clark Adrian F.
Published: February 2025

This paper presents two fictional stories describing an augmented reality system that helps users learn history in an entertaining way. A complete impression of the surrounding environment is achieved by virtual human agents with sophisticated AI and thorough interaction with other users.
Discovering Models of Human's Behavior from Sensor's Data
Authors: Pomponio Laura  , Le Goc Marc  , Pascual Eric  , Anfosso Alain
Published: February 2025

The human activity monitoring in a smart environment requires to compare human behavior registered through sensors with human activity models. However, due to the erratic nature of human behavior, the building of these models is one of the major issues to be overcome for those who work with intelligent environment. This work proposes a general theoretical approach to define human activity models, based on the combination of a Knowledge Engineering methodology and a Machine Learning process which are both funded on a general theory of dynamic process modeling.
Nickelbricking
Authors: Moores Toby  , Atherton Mike
Published: February 2025

Murder investigation in a post-cataclysmic San Francisco.
Happy Eggs
Authors: Jiang Xinyi
Published: February 2025

The world of scientific discovery often remains far-fetched to ordinary people. Although the significance of engaging the public and making the science accessible has been increasingly recognised, few efforts have been made to investigate the popular stereotype of ‘crazy’ scientists, ambitious and sometimes nerdy. Whilst the media tend to focus on very few glamorous scientist celebrities, the majority of them often remain anonymous, battling with the tedium and the gruelling pressure. This story presents glimpses of the daily life of an ordinary young scientist and her search for the meaning of science and life, set in a futuristic scenario about genetic research on the formation of happy neurons when physical illnesses have been conquered. Questions are raised about the possibility of a formula for ‘happiness’, and the role of science and technology for the psychological health of human beings.
Developing Smart Domestic Applications using a Wizard of Oz Methodology
Authors: Li Andol X.  , Bonner John V.H.
Published: February 2025

In this paper we consider how ‘smartness’ should be designed to enhance the communication in the home. We aim to evoke a rethinking of how smart technologies should be embedded in perspectives of user needs. Through a set of experimental studies, which employ a Wizard of Oz (WoZ) as design and evaluation methodology, we observe and analyse user interactions accordingly with the wizard's simulations. Based on experiment results, our argument is, designing smartness for communication in the home should not heavily rely on invisibly distributed sensors and networks due to interaction design misunderstandings that a large number of sensors and networks can make ambient intelligence with few user understandings. The results also argue that, smartness can be realised by first improving the integration of personal information into the environments, which is closely relevant to social routines.
Personalized uLearning in a Smart Anytime-Anywhere Campus Environment
Authors: Al Hammadi Omran  , Zemerly Mohamed Jamal  , Ng Jason W.P.
Published: February 2025

Ubiquitous learning (uLearning) environment is becoming an important part of the modern educational paradigm. This is due to the advent of smart phones with high end capabilities which make them suitable for delivering learning content. This paper describes an Android based context-aware mobile application that assists students in managing their campus activities as well as facilitating workgroup collaboration or information sharing. The application areas of concern are campus core curriculum and campus general social activities. The core curriculum component focuses on the student academic activities from the start till the end of the semester. For example the student will be able to register new courses, check their timetable and performance, playback recorded videos of lectures/tutorials stored on university server, and watch a streaming video of a live lecture. Also, the general social networking aspect of the application enhances the learning experience by allowing students to share knowledge with one another.
Smart Mobile Assessment Tool
Authors: Al Dhanhani Ahmed  , Mizouni Rabeb  , Otrok Hadi  , Ng Jason W.P.
Published: February 2025

Portable devices, such as laptops and mobile phones, have become prevalent in the recent years, especially in the educational campus environment. However, there is a gap in utilizing these devices, for assessment purposes, so as to foster portability and interactive engagement with students as well as to promote paperless environment in order to reduce its associated carbon footprint. The aim of this smart assessment tool is to allow the faculty to customize a set of questions (for quiz or feedback purposes), and propagate them, in real time, to their targeted students' mobile devices, such as laptops or mobile phones, for their individual inputs. Such a tool will change the presence of mobile phones, especially during lecture times, from undesirable disruptive devices to educational constructive ones. Apart from its educational use, this tool has wide diverse applications in, for instance, restaurants, hotels, airports, malls, etc.
An Efficient Data Reduction Technique for Single Multi-Modal WSNs
Authors: Abdel-All Mohamed O.  , Ramadan Rabie A.  , Shaaban Ahmed A.  , Abdel-Meguid Mohamed Z.
Published: February 2025

Intelligent environments, in general, represent the future evolutionary development step for the real world environment. However, to achieve their aims, an intelligent system is required to collect data from the surrounding environment. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is one of the technologies that extensively used to collect such data. It has been used in many applications such as surveillance, machine failure diagnosis, weather forecast, intelligent environments, intelligent campuses and chemical/biological detection. Nonetheless, their nodes suffer from energy starvation due to the large number of messages need to be transferred through the network. The purpose of this paper is to investigate new approaches for data reduction in single and multimodal WSN. The proposed approaches are based on exponential smoothing predictors. At the same time, we believe that such approaches will enhance the reliability of the sensed data. Through large number of experiments, we test our approach through real data as well as through simulation.
ExoBuilding
Authors: Schnädelbach Holger  , Glover Kevin  , Jäger Nils  , Kirk Dave
Published: February 2025

ExoBuilding explores the novel design space that emerges when an individual's physiological data and the fabric of building architecture are directly linked. In its current form ExoBuilding is a tent-like structure that externalises a person's physiological data in an immersive and visceral way. This is achieved by mapping abdominal breathing to its shape and size, displaying heart beat through sound and light effects and mapping electro dermal activity to a projection on the tent fabric. The research is positioned in relation to previous work and the iterative development of ExoBuilding from to-scale to full-size prototype is described. An informal pilot study suggests a biofeedback loop between inhabitants and ExoBuilding, which results in some cases in a relaxing experience. Overall, ExoBuilding raises pertinent questions about the use of personal data in the built environment. In a future where it is technologically possible for personal data to be made available to our technologically infused environments, how do we give inhabitants the necessary understanding, tools and controls to manage their engagement?