Actual Destination Research Articles

Detection and analysis of eavesdropping in anonymous communication networks

Anonymous communication networks, like Tor, partially protect the confidentiality of user traffic by encrypting all communications within the overlay network. However, when the relayed traffic reaches the boundaries of the network, toward its destination, the original user traffic is inevitably exposed to the final node on the path. As a result, users transmitting sensitive data, like authentication credentials, over such networks, risk having their data intercepted and exposed, unless end-to-end encryption is used. Eavesdropping can be performed by malicious or compromised relay nodes, as well as any rogue network entity on the path toward the actual destination. Furthermore, end-to-end encryption does not assure defense against man-in-the-middle attacks. In this work, we explore the use of decoys at multiple levels for the detection of traffic interception by malicious nodes of proxy-based anonymous communication systems. Our approach relies on the injection of traffic that exposes bait credentials for decoy services requiring user authentication, and URLs to seemingly sensitive decoy documents which, when opened, invoke scripts alerting about being accessed. Our aim was to entice prospective eavesdroppers to access our decoy servers and decoy documents, using the snooped credentials and URLs. We have deployed our prototype implementation in the Tor network using decoy IMAP, SMTP, and HTTP servers. During the course of over 30 months, our system has detected 18 cases of traffic eavesdropping that involved 14 different Tor exit nodes.

Modeling Parking Search on a Network by Using Stochastic Shortest Paths with History Dependence

A substantial amount of urban traffic is related to drivers searching for parking. This study developed an online stochastic shortest path model to represent the parking search process in which drivers must choose whether to park at an available space or continue searching for a space closer to their destination. Existing online shortest path algorithms had been formulated for the full-reset or no-reset assumptions on revisiting links. As described in this paper, neither assumption was fully suitable for the parking search process. Accordingly, this paper proposes an asymptotic reset model that generalizes the full-reset and no-reset cases and uses the concept of reset rate to characterize the temporal dependence of parking probabilities on earlier observations. In this model, drivers try to minimize their expected travel cost, which includes the driving cost and the cost of walking from a parking spot to the actual destination conditioned on the parking availability on m most recently traversed links. The problem was formulated as a Markov decision process and was demonstrated with a network representing the neighborhood of the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie. The case study successfully shows the extra time used by drivers to cruise for an acceptable parking space and illustrates the impact of m on the computation effort required to compute an optimal policy.

A methodology for estimating expected distances between nodes on a network

Transportation, distribution, and logistics professionals often need to estimate the distances that are used for the arc lengths between nodes on a network model. For example, a network model might be representative of roads and cities in which the actual distance from one city to the next may vary depending upon the actual source and destination within each of the respective cities. Hence, estimates for the arc lengths within the network model will contain error. This research presents two new models to estimate these inter-nodal distances for cases in which complete nodal representation of every source and destination is computationally prohibitive.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world

I would like to thank the Society for the privilege of serving as your president (Fig. 1). For me, this is but a point on a journey, as I hand the presidential reins to Dr. Melvin. SAGES itself remains a journey I hope to continue with many of you for years to come; there is no actual destination. In partnership with other groups, this journey will help to define gastrointestinal (GI) surgery and surgical endoscopy for the future—a future that YOU will live in. If you have been in practice for a while, you can see the path that led you to where you are today complete with the potholes and wrong turns. I am sure that there were times you could not quite see your way. If you are now just starting out, I am sorry to say that there are no maps; the best you can hope for is a compass. My compass led me on a journey past three particular mentors: two cardiac and one trauma surgeon. Michael DeBakey was legendary. He was a relentless taskmaster who pursued perfection in surgery for more than 70 of his 99 years (Fig. 2). Most of the stories associated with him, such as residents living in the hospital for two to three months at a time, are true. He lived and pursued excellence for himself and those around him. Those who did not measure up were shredded and fired. Kinder and gentler had yet to arrive in Houston in the early 1980s. The surgical residency pyramid was very steep for the seven chief resident slots. There were many casualties, but if you survived, you were reasonably fearless (for better or worse) in the operating room. He did not converse much with residents, but he loved to talk to the medical students about the early days of vascular surgery and making vascular grafts on his wife’s sewing machine (Fig. 3). He told our second-year medical school class, ‘‘You cannot learn to play the violin by reading the sheet music.’’ He participated in more than 60,000 surgeries. It was awe-inspiring. I stayed at Baylor for my surgical residency. Although he worked us into the ground, it should be no surprise that the vast majority of residents went into cardiovascular surgery. In fact, all of my fellow chiefs became cardiovascular surgeons, except me. I guess someone has to be the black sheep. My compass pointed to general surgery. I had seen an angioplasty in 1983 and decided that cardiologists would someday overrun coronary artery disease. It took awhile, but this year there are only 55 applicants for the 110 nonintegrated cardiothoracic residency positions. With this in mind, I went to the program director and asked to do an endoscopy rotation. He chuckled and told me I would have to talk to Dr. DeBakey if I wanted to do something like that. Dr. DeBakey sat behind his desk and looked up at the terrified third-year resident. I asked about endoscopy. He said nothing—he just went back to his work. I stood there speechless. The interview was over, but the next day I received a page from the Chief of Gastroenterology at the Houston Veterans Administration Hospital and spent the next few months learning how to ‘‘scope.’’ Years later, I ran into Dr. DeBakey in a bookstore in Houston. We talked about endoscopy. He described training and working with Alton Ochshner and doing rigid endoscopy. That day one of the world’s greatest cardiovascular surgeons told me that general surgeons were foolish for ceding the majority of endoscopies. He said we would need to relearn those skills someday. Thank you, Dr. DeBakey for your prescience. We’ll get back to him later. A few months after that endoscopy rotation, I was called to the operating room one day by the GYN chief resident who was peering down a laparoscope. He was bent over S. D. Schwaitzberg (&) Department of Surgery, Cambridge Health Alliance Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA e-mail: sschwaitzberg@challiance.org

Changes in muscle sympathetic nerve activity and vascular responses evoked in the spinotrapezius muscle of the rat by systemic hypoxia.

Responses evoked in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) by systemic hypoxia have received relatively little attention. Moreover, MSNA is generally identified from firing characteristics in fibres supplying whole limbs: their actual destination is not determined. We aimed to address these limitations by using a novel preparation of spinotrapezius muscle in anaesthetised rats. By using focal recording electrodes, multi-unit and discriminated single unit activity were recorded from the surface of arterial vessels.This had cardiac- and respiratory-related activities expected of MSNA, and was increased by baroreceptor unloading, decreased by baroreceptor stimulation and abolished by autonomic ganglion blockade. Progressive, graded hypoxia (breathing sequentially 12, 10, 8% O2 for 2min each) evoked graded increases in MSNA.In single units, mean firing frequency increased from 0.2±0.04 in 21% O2 to 0.62 ± 0.14 Hz in8% O2, while instantaneous frequencies ranged from 0.04–6Hz in 21% O2 to 0.09–20 Hz in 8%O2. Concomitantly, arterial pressure (ABP), fell and heart rate (HR) and respiratory frequency(RF) increased progressively, while spinotrapezius vascular resistance (SVR) decreased (Spinotrapezius blood flow/ABP), indicating muscle vasodilatation. During 8% O2 for 10 min, the falls in ABP and SVR were maintained, but RF, HR and MSNA waned towards baselines from the second to the tenth minute. Thus, we directly show that MSNA increases during systemic hypoxia to an extent that is mainly determined by the increases in peripheral chemoreceptor stimulation and respiratory drive, but its vasoconstrictor effects on muscle vasculature are largely blunted by local dilator influences, despite high instantaneous frequencies in single fibres.

Visitor narratives: researching and illuminating actual destination experience

PurposeThis paper aims to argue that, while destination benchmarking and visitor surveys seek to measure the visitor experience, they privilege the destination manager or researcher rather than taking the visitor's viewpoint. It seeks to suggest that capturing and analysing visitor stories while in the destination can facilitate understanding of how destination image changes with actual experience, and what factors or attributes are important, thereby offering a deeper insight into the process through which destination experience is transformed (sense making) and transmitted (sense giving) via those stories, that all important word of mouth publicity.Design/methodology/approachUnstructured interviews were recorded with visitors in Edinburgh and Greenwich. An interpretive approach was employed in analysing the interview data to uncover facets of visitor experience affecting the image conveyed through the narrative.FindingsThe research reveals three elements involved in the sense making and sense giving process and sets out the three categories of visitor consumption characteristics which are implicated in the process.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the outcomes of the sense making and sense giving process are mediated by the incidents, interactions and characteristics of the individual visitor, the process itself is common to all visitors. Analysing visitor narratives to uncover the mediating factors illuminates the visitor's actual destination experience and its impact on their understanding or image of a destination. Narratives proved to be a useful research tool.Practical implicationsThe interview and analysis techniques used could be readily adapted for use alongside existing standardised visitor survey tools to provide destination managers and marketers a greater understanding of the impact of customer care and visitor management programmes and how narrative may be useful in tailoring destination marketing to meet the requirements of specific visitor groups.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates the utility of capturing and analysing visitor narratives at the point of destination consumption for understanding actual destination experience and the way in which it is transmitted as word of mouth information to others.

Roman Crete and the Letter to Titus

Crete is rarely taken seriously as a plausible actual destination for the NT letter to Titus. Investigation of Roman Crete, however, yields intriguing points of contact with puzzling features of the letter. Patterns of social organisation on the island correlate closely to the structure of behavioural instruction in Titus 2.1–10, suggesting that it might have been shaped specifically to that environment. Unusual elements of the major theological statements in Titus correspond to aspects of Cretan religion in ways that could represent intentional engagement. There are implications for identifying the letter's provenance and interpreting it as a missionary document.

Pessoas com deficiência e políticas de saúde no Brasil: reflexões bioéticas

The purpose of this article is to analyze the dilemma of allocation of public funds to the healthcare of people with disabilities in Brazil from a bioethical standpoint. The concept of disability and the legal framework are presented; the question of budgetary constraints and theoretical bioethics references about this issue are discussed; and the role of Bioethics of Protection and Bioethics of Intervention is stressed. It is concluded that, because of their vulnerability, people with disabilities should be protected by the state and funds must be allocated to guarantee their access to healthcare services. However, in spite of the existing legal basis, the actual destination of public funds to people with disabilities still depends on other factors, among others social and political participation of the disabled persons themselves in the negotiation of healthcare policies.

Validation of the Lower Gastrointestinal Electronic Referral Protocol

Recognition of people presenting to the general practitioner with symptoms suggestive of colorectal cancer varies considerably, as do the subsequent patterns of referral and treatment. The Lower Gastrointestinal Electronic Referral Protocol (e-RP) was developed to be used alongside the national Choose and Book programme. This paper addresses the validation of the e-RP. The e-RP was validated using three datasets: 100 consecutive patients with colorectal cancer, 100 2-week wait (TWW) suspected cancer referrals and 100 routine referrals. The actual destination of referred patients, their clinical diagnosis and referral urgency were compared with destination and referral urgency assigned by the e-RP. Some 43.0 per cent of patients with colorectal cancer were actually referred through the TWW system and the e-RP successfully upgraded 85.0 per cent of these patients as TWW referrals (Pearson chi(2) = 9.76, 1 d.f., P = 0.002). The e-RP also redirected three of four patients with colorectal cancer in routine referrals to TWW clinics. Right-sided cancers were appropriately directed to colonoscopy as the first contact in secondary care or to outpatients for investigation of a palpable mass. Most patients with left-sided cancers were directed to flexible sigmoidoscopy clinics. A dedicated referral protocol addressing all colorectal symptoms would significantly improve the overall yield of colorectal cancers through the TWW route and reduce delays in patient pathways with 'straight to test' in secondary care.

An Analysis Study on Zone-Based Anonymous Communication in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

A zone-based anonymous positioning routing protocol for ad hoc networks, enabling anonymity of both source and destination, is proposed and analyzed. According to the proposed algorithm, a source sends data to an anonymity zone, where the destination node and a number of other nodes are located. The data is then flooded within the anonymity zone so that a tracer is not able to determine the actual destination node. Source anonymity is also enabled because the positioning routing algorithms do not require the source ID or its position for the correct routing. We develop anonymity protocols for both routeless and route-based data delivery algorithms. To evaluate we propose a measure of anonymity, and we develop an analytical model to evaluate it. By using this model, we perform an extensive analysis of the anonymity protocols to determine the parameters that most impact the anonymity level.

A Large Deviation Principle for Join the Shortest Queue

We consider a join-the-shortest-queue model, which is as follows. There are K single FIFO servers and M arrival processes. The customers from a given arrival process can be served only by the servers from a certain subset of all servers. The actual destination is the server with the smallest weighted queue length. The arrival processes are assumed to obey a large deviation principle while service is exponential. A large deviation principle is established for the queue-length process. The action functional is expressed in terms of solutions to mathematical programming problems. The large deviation limit point is identified as a weak solution to a system of idempotent equations. Uniqueness of the weak solution follows by trajectorial uniqueness.

Choice or circumstance: The UK as the location of asylum applications by Bosnian and Somali refugees

Questions concerning why asylum seekers make their applications in particular countries rather than others have not been fully researched. Some explanation can be found via aggregate migration theories, but there is a need to consider the circumstances of individual movers. Respondents here were drawn from amongst Bosnian and Somali refugees in northern England. The interviews showed that asylum movement is of a variety of types, with two stage migration commonly involved – firstly immediate flight to a neighbouring haven, and secondly on to a more permanent place of settlement. Very few respondents had any real choice in where they ended up. Instead, family circumstances, cultural connections, and the actions of a variety of institutions produced scenarios in which there was generally no alternative to the actual destination arrived at. It is suggested that a mix of individual level and institutional explanations is needed to understand patterns of asylum destinations.

Route of discharge for special (high-security) hospital patients with personality disorder. Relationship with re-conviction.

A considerable proportion of patients with personality disorder are discharged directly to the community from special (high-security) hospitals. To examine whether patients with personality disorder discharged directly to the community are more likely to be re-convicted than those transferred to psychiatric hospitals of lesser security. Re-conviction data for a five- to nine-year follow-up were collected for a four-year (1988-1991) special hospital discharge cohort of patients with personality disorder. Individuals discharged directly to the community were not significantly more likely to be re-convicted than those transferred to less secure psychiatric hospitals. However, patients discharged to the community without formal conditions of supervision were more likely to be re-convicted than those discharged to the community with conditions or those transferred to other psychiatric hospitals. Formal supervision after discharge may be more important than actual destination in influencing the likelihood of re-conviction.

Pure Greedy Hot-Potato in the 2-D Mesh with Random Destinations

We analyze here a pure greedy hot-potato routing strategy on a two-dimensional mesh of n2 nodes. We specifically study the case of n2 packets, originating one per node, to be delivered at random uniform destinations. Each packet attempts to follow the shortest path leading first to the destination row/column (whichever is closest) and then to the actual destination node. A deflection policy ia adopted to solve conflicts. We prove that all packets are delivered to the destinations in average time O(nlogn). The average is taken over all possible destination functions. No average case analysis of pure greedy hot-potato routing was known up to now.

Tourist destination images of the wet tropical rainforests of north queensland

Two hundred and four visitors to the wet tropics of Far North Queensland were surveyed to guage ideal holiday destination images together with actual destination images of this area. A comparison of actual and ideal image attributes revealed a negative divergence of images for attributes such as roads, souvenirs, public transport and climate, with actual images falling short of ideal images. This comparison also revealed some positive divergences, with actual images involving crowding, wildlife and friendliness of local residents exceeding the ideal. Processes associated with these positive divergences are explored by cross-tabulations of actual and ideal images of the friendliness of destination residents. The associations of actual images of friendliness, wildlife and crowding with destination rating and intention to revisit are also examined. A matching process is here revealed which shows high scores on actual images reflected in high scores on ideal images, destination rating and intention to revisit. This process is most noticeable for images of the friendliness of destination residents. The role of this matching process in holiday decision-making is explored, together with practical implications for local communities in tourist destinations.

Indirect measurement of mobility trends: The case of male intragenerational mobility

Much of what has been written about trend in mobility is based on the use of indirect standardization to infer changes in unobserved rates of upward mobility. This method, which consists of interpreting the differences between actual and hypothetical destination percentages (d values), has not been critically examined. Here we investigate two procedures for applying indirect standardization. The first procedure is modeled after previous use in the literature. Applied to data on one‐year male intragenerational mobility, this procedure erroneously concludes that there was an increase in the overall probability of upward mobility. The second procedure, which is based on the decomposition of d values into weighted sums of changes in aggregate mobility rates, produces results that are generally valid though diffuse. For two reasons, previous use of indirect standardization has been biased toward overstating increases in upward mobility: d values are not sensitive to upward shift in origin distribution, and d v...

The new tourist — turning point for leisure and travel

People are motivated to travel by the desire to escape from the monotony of the daily routine, and the actual destination is to some extent irrelevant. Jost Krippendorf, of the University of Bern Tourism Research Institute, explains why he believes that present changes of attitudes towards work and leisure will eventually produce a new type of tourist having more consideration for, and a more informed understanding of, the host population and environment.

Zonal Security Technique for Use in Strategic and Tactical Response Planning

This paper describes a statistical technique for the determination of the penetration probability of each physical point in the protected facility as a function of time. Knowledge of the actual route or destination of the intruding force is not required. The technique is based on a "state vector" description of the facility in conjunction with a transition matrix. The time evolution is determined by utilization of the "Markov" assumption for the system. While the basic solution utilizes a time independent transition matrix a means of extending the method to a time dependent transition matrix case is described. An example is provided to show how the technique may be utilized in determining a "zonal" security map of the system for use in tactical response planning. Use of the results for strategic planning and for "weak point" determination in the system design is also presented.