title: Cyber security visualization effectiveness

authors: Garae, Jeffery

subjects: Cyber Security

abstract: Security visualization utilises predefined data attributes and translates them into visual nodes to form images for the purpose of communicating critical security information to targeted audiences. It is commonly used for two reasons: exploring and reporting purposes thus, sharing insights on suspected security events. However, the challenge of selecting the best visualization out of two or more visualization samples, regardless of existing limitations such as screen dimensions and visual complexities, required users to utilise certain measurement criteria. These criteria urge security visualization researchers, developers and users (viewers) to ask themselves the following two questions: What makes a security visualization effective? How do we measure visualization effectiveness in the context of investigating, analysing, understanding and reporting cyber security incidents?

This thesis explores a range of effectiveness measurement techniques for web and mobile platforms. We investigated existing effectiveness methods for the design, implementation and user observation phases in security visualizations. Consequently, we identified effectiveness criteria and metrics in applications include visual clarity, visibility, distortion rates and user cognitive response (viewing) times. With the goal of aiding decision making in cyber security operations, we provided a distinctive security visualization paradigm of a full-scale effectiveness measurement (SvEm framework) approach for both theoretical and user-centric visualization techniques. Our framework facilitates effectiveness through our SvEm algorithm thus, providing various interactive three-dimensional (3D) visualization applications to enhance both single and multi-user collaboration.

The SvEm framework involves several key components: (1) web/mobile display dimensions and resolution, (2) security incident entities, (3) user cognitive activators and alerts, (4) working memory load, (5) threat scoring system and (6) the colour usage management. To evaluate effectiveness in our framework, we developed several use cases: (1) VisualProgger - a real-time security visualization analytic application (web and mobile platforms), (2) a security visualization with augmented reality and (3) a security visualization for intelligence tracking and monitoring. In addition, we developed and documented a new security visualization guideline (a SCeeVis pre-standard) as part of the SvEm framework to aid with the design, implementation and observation environments.

This pre-standard further allowed us to develop our SCeeVis colour chaining standard and a new cognition and working memory (SvEm-CWML) instruction set to enhance the user’s cognition and perception process for security visualizations. As a result, our visualization application outputs effectiveness measurement by capturing and increasing the user's attention span through the process of reducing cognitive load, while increasing the viewer’s memory efficiency. Thus, users have a high potential to gain security insights from a given visualization. Our evaluation shows that, viewers perform better with the existence of prior knowledge of security events and if they operate in a comfortable visual environment. It has also indicated that circular visualization designs attracted and maintained the viewer’s attention. Finally, these discoveries have revealed new research directions for future work relating to effectiveness measurement in security visualization.

text: Cyber security visualization effectiveness Security visualization utilises predefined data attributes and translates them into visual nodes to form images for the purpose of communicating critical security information to targeted audiences. It is commonly used for two reasons: exploring and reporting purposes thus, sharing insights on suspected security events. However, the challenge of selecting the best visualization out of two or more visualization samples, regardless of existing limitations such as screen dimensions and visual complexities, required users to utilise certain measurement criteria. These criteria urge security visualization researchers, developers and users (viewers) to ask themselves the following two questions: What makes a security visualization effective? How do we measure visualization effectiveness in the context of investigating, analysing, understanding and reporting cyber security incidents?

This thesis explores a range of effectiveness measurement techniques for web and mobile platforms. We investigated existing effectiveness methods for the design, implementation and user observation phases in security visualizations. Consequently, we identified effectiveness criteria and metrics in applications include visual clarity, visibility, distortion rates and user cognitive response (viewing) times. With the goal of aiding decision making in cyber security operations, we provided a distinctive security visualization paradigm of a full-scale effectiveness measurement (SvEm framework) approach for both theoretical and user-centric visualization techniques. Our framework facilitates effectiveness through our SvEm algorithm thus, providing various interactive three-dimensional (3D) visualization applications to enhance both single and multi-user collaboration.

The SvEm framework involves several key components: (1) web/mobile display dimensions and resolution, (2) security incident entities, (3) user cognitive activators and alerts, (4) working memory load, (5) threat scoring system and (6) the colour usage management. To evaluate effectiveness in our framework, we developed several use cases: (1) VisualProgger - a real-time security visualization analytic application (web and mobile platforms), (2) a security visualization with augmented reality and (3) a security visualization for intelligence tracking and monitoring. In addition, we developed and documented a new security visualization guideline (a SCeeVis pre-standard) as part of the SvEm framework to aid with the design, implementation and observation environments.

This pre-standard further allowed us to develop our SCeeVis colour chaining standard and a new cognition and working memory (SvEm-CWML) instruction set to enhance the user’s cognition and perception process for security visualizations. As a result, our visualization application outputs effectiveness measurement by capturing and increasing the user's attention span through the process of reducing cognitive load, while increasing the viewer’s memory efficiency. Thus, users have a high potential to gain security insights from a given visualization. Our evaluation shows that, viewers perform better with the existence of prior knowledge of security events and if they operate in a comfortable visual environment. It has also indicated that circular visualization designs attracted and maintained the viewer’s attention. Finally, these discoveries have revealed new research directions for future work relating to effectiveness measurement in security visualization.

year: 2019

title: What influences the emergence of a new subject in schools? The case of environmental education

authors: Yueh, Mei-Chun Michelle

subjects: theme

abstract: New subjects are always emerging but only some gain a place in the formal school curriculum. In fact, most of the now accepted conventional school subjects have, at some stage, struggled to become established. This paper presents findings of a three-year study of teacher and school responses to the introduction of environmental education (EE) as a new subject within the Taiwan national curriculum. School leaders and teachers were interviewed the year prior to the introduction of the new curriculum and during the first two years of implementation. Findings substantiate the importance of six themes (such as examination status and a university pathway) raised in elaborations of the traditional Layton/Goodson model. However, the complex community-school relationships and the value accorded in EE to community-based and even global action, as opposed to academic outcomes, highlighted the need for curriculum policy makers to consider expanding the traditional model with another five themes and most importantly introducing three particular themes. When seeking to promote the emergence of a holistic and integrative subject such as environmental education there is a need to also consider local environment involvement, the transformative nature of EE within whole school involvement, and linkages with a national cooperation network. Without these factors it appears EE may struggle to gain a place in the curriculum.

text: What influences the emergence of a new subject in schools? The case of environmental education New subjects are always emerging but only some gain a place in the formal school curriculum. In fact, most of the now accepted conventional school subjects have, at some stage, struggled to become established. This paper presents findings of a three-year study of teacher and school responses to the introduction of environmental education (EE) as a new subject within the Taiwan national curriculum. School leaders and teachers were interviewed the year prior to the introduction of the new curriculum and during the first two years of implementation. Findings substantiate the importance of six themes (such as examination status and a university pathway) raised in elaborations of the traditional Layton/Goodson model. However, the complex community-school relationships and the value accorded in EE to community-based and even global action, as opposed to academic outcomes, highlighted the need for curriculum policy makers to consider expanding the traditional model with another five themes and most importantly introducing three particular themes. When seeking to promote the emergence of a holistic and integrative subject such as environmental education there is a need to also consider local environment involvement, the transformative nature of EE within whole school involvement, and linkages with a national cooperation network. Without these factors it appears EE may struggle to gain a place in the curriculum.

year: 2010

title: Empirical analysis of Pacific, Māori and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand

authors: Cochrane, William

abstract: A descriptive profile of the four ethnic groups, by gender, is provided to illustrate the heterogeneities across populations in terms of a number of variables grouped into the following categories: individual characteristics, educational attainment, region, household and job-related characteristics. The main empirical analysis involves estimation of the statistical contribution of observed factors (within each of the aforementioned categories) towards explaining the ethnic pay gaps. As this research is primarily aimed as an input towards the Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry being conducted by the Human Rights Commission, we focus our summary of the key findings on the Pacific – European pay gap.
This includes variables on permanent contract status, an indicator if in part-time work, occupation, and industry. These results are therefore likely an indication of the strong role of occupational segregation in the labour market. An additional factor that had a relatively strong contribution to the pay gap, particularly for the Pacific – European female gap, was educational attainment. Overall, even after accounting for differences in job-related characteristics and educational attainment, amongst a number of other observed factors, it was still found that only 27 percent of the pay gap for Pacific males (relative to Europeans) could be explained; and the corresponding proportion for females was 39 percent. The remaining portion of the Pacific Pay Gap is likely to reflect a range of causes that cannot be quantified or disentangled in this analysis – such as not including other factors of importance as they weren’t observed in the data (for example, literacy proficiency or field of study for qualification attained); ethnic differences in preferences for non-wage components of the job; unconscious bias; and discrimination.

text: Empirical analysis of Pacific, Māori and ethnic pay gaps in New Zealand A descriptive profile of the four ethnic groups, by gender, is provided to illustrate the heterogeneities across populations in terms of a number of variables grouped into the following categories: individual characteristics, educational attainment, region, household and job-related characteristics. The main empirical analysis involves estimation of the statistical contribution of observed factors (within each of the aforementioned categories) towards explaining the ethnic pay gaps. As this research is primarily aimed as an input towards the Pacific Pay Gap Inquiry being conducted by the Human Rights Commission, we focus our summary of the key findings on the Pacific – European pay gap.
This includes variables on permanent contract status, an indicator if in part-time work, occupation, and industry. These results are therefore likely an indication of the strong role of occupational segregation in the labour market. An additional factor that had a relatively strong contribution to the pay gap, particularly for the Pacific – European female gap, was educational attainment. Overall, even after accounting for differences in job-related characteristics and educational attainment, amongst a number of other observed factors, it was still found that only 27 percent of the pay gap for Pacific males (relative to Europeans) could be explained; and the corresponding proportion for females was 39 percent. The remaining portion of the Pacific Pay Gap is likely to reflect a range of causes that cannot be quantified or disentangled in this analysis – such as not including other factors of importance as they weren’t observed in the data (for example, literacy proficiency or field of study for qualification attained); ethnic differences in preferences for non-wage components of the job; unconscious bias; and discrimination.

year: 2022-07