title: Embedding Java classes with code2vec: improvements from variable obfuscation

authors: Compton, Rhys

abstract: Automatic source code analysis in key areas of software engineering, such as code security, can benefit from Machine Learning (ML). However, many standard ML approaches require a numeric representation of data and cannot be applied directly to source code. Thus, to enable ML, we need to embed source code into numeric feature vectors while maintaining the semantics of the code as much as possible. code2vec is a recently released embedding approach that uses the proxy task of method name prediction to map Java methods to feature vectors. However, experimentation with code2vec shows that it learns to rely on variable names for prediction, causing it to be easily fooled by typos or adversarial attacks. Moreover, it is only able to embed individual Java methods and cannot embed an entire collection of methods such as those present in a typical Java class, making it difficult to perform predictions at the class level (e.g., for the identification of malicious Java classes). Both shortcomings are addressed in the research presented in this paper. We investigate the effect of obfuscating variable names during training of a code2vec model to force it to rely on the structure of the code rather than specific names and consider a simple approach to creating class-level embeddings by aggregating sets of method embeddings. Our results, obtained on a challenging new collection of source-code classification problems, indicate that obfuscating variable names produces an embedding model that is both impervious to variable naming and more accurately reflects code semantics. The datasets, models, and code are shared1 for further ML research on source code.

text: Embedding Java classes with code2vec: improvements from variable obfuscation Automatic source code analysis in key areas of software engineering, such as code security, can benefit from Machine Learning (ML). However, many standard ML approaches require a numeric representation of data and cannot be applied directly to source code. Thus, to enable ML, we need to embed source code into numeric feature vectors while maintaining the semantics of the code as much as possible. code2vec is a recently released embedding approach that uses the proxy task of method name prediction to map Java methods to feature vectors. However, experimentation with code2vec shows that it learns to rely on variable names for prediction, causing it to be easily fooled by typos or adversarial attacks. Moreover, it is only able to embed individual Java methods and cannot embed an entire collection of methods such as those present in a typical Java class, making it difficult to perform predictions at the class level (e.g., for the identification of malicious Java classes). Both shortcomings are addressed in the research presented in this paper. We investigate the effect of obfuscating variable names during training of a code2vec model to force it to rely on the structure of the code rather than specific names and consider a simple approach to creating class-level embeddings by aggregating sets of method embeddings. Our results, obtained on a challenging new collection of source-code classification problems, indicate that obfuscating variable names produces an embedding model that is both impervious to variable naming and more accurately reflects code semantics. The datasets, models, and code are shared1 for further ML research on source code.

year: 2020

title: Systems of service delivery: A resilience perspective

authors: Stanley, Peter

subjects: Cross-agency referrals

abstract: This article discusses the efficacy of different methods of referring children for educational psychological services from the perspective of resilience theorising and research. Four referral systems are considered, and they are intake, patch, screening, and cross-agency referrals. It is argued that the intake system, where referrals are received by a central agency from a number of sources, is problematic from a practice as well as a theoretical perspective. The patch approach is where an educational psychologist works in a defined geographical area, and this system is recommended instead because it promotes an in-depth understanding of the particular circumstances of children, parents, and teachers. It is also suggested that geographical patches, plus the screening of students at several developmental points, is the most useful referral approach because it combines comparative standards and local knowledge. As well, cross-agency referrals, which are referrals from other social service agencies, can function as useful sources of clients for psychological services

text: Systems of service delivery: A resilience perspective This article discusses the efficacy of different methods of referring children for educational psychological services from the perspective of resilience theorising and research. Four referral systems are considered, and they are intake, patch, screening, and cross-agency referrals. It is argued that the intake system, where referrals are received by a central agency from a number of sources, is problematic from a practice as well as a theoretical perspective. The patch approach is where an educational psychologist works in a defined geographical area, and this system is recommended instead because it promotes an in-depth understanding of the particular circumstances of children, parents, and teachers. It is also suggested that geographical patches, plus the screening of students at several developmental points, is the most useful referral approach because it combines comparative standards and local knowledge. As well, cross-agency referrals, which are referrals from other social service agencies, can function as useful sources of clients for psychological services

year: 2012

title: He ara whakaora i whaia e atahi wahine i tukinohia = Long term effects of childhood sexual abuse among Maori women: A healing path for abused women

authors: Hippolite Wright, Debbie

subjects: Sexual abuse victims

abstract: He Ara Whakaora I Whaia E Etahi Wahine I Tukinohia: A Healing Path for Abused Women is a qualitative study of long term effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse among Maori women. Thirteen Maori women of diverse ages, sexual orientations, socioeconomic, religious, and tribal backgrounds shared their life experiences in a series of semistructured interviews. The women describe the physical, social and emotional impact the sexual abuse had on them. lndepth case studies are used to explore how these women rallied their personal, interpersonal, and social resources to survive the abuse, and ultimately find a way of healing. A theoretical synthesis comprising Tikanga Maori, Ecological Psychology, Social Systems theory, and Feminist theory is used to shed light on the participants' narratives. They also identify characteristics of their perpetrators, most were male and all but one was a trusted individual. A culturally competent model of healing for Maori survivors of sexual abuse was generated from the collective survival and healing strategies described by the participants.

text: He ara whakaora i whaia e atahi wahine i tukinohia = Long term effects of childhood sexual abuse among Maori women: A healing path for abused women He Ara Whakaora I Whaia E Etahi Wahine I Tukinohia: A Healing Path for Abused Women is a qualitative study of long term effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse among Maori women. Thirteen Maori women of diverse ages, sexual orientations, socioeconomic, religious, and tribal backgrounds shared their life experiences in a series of semistructured interviews. The women describe the physical, social and emotional impact the sexual abuse had on them. lndepth case studies are used to explore how these women rallied their personal, interpersonal, and social resources to survive the abuse, and ultimately find a way of healing. A theoretical synthesis comprising Tikanga Maori, Ecological Psychology, Social Systems theory, and Feminist theory is used to shed light on the participants' narratives. They also identify characteristics of their perpetrators, most were male and all but one was a trusted individual. A culturally competent model of healing for Maori survivors of sexual abuse was generated from the collective survival and healing strategies described by the participants.

year: 1998