Insecure Environment Research Articles

A review of secure federated learning: Privacy leakage threats, protection technologies, challenges and future directions

Advances in the new generation of Internet of Things (IoT) technology are propelling the growth of intelligent industrial applications worldwide. Simultaneously, widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as machine and deep learning, is accelerating. Traditional machine learning models rely heavily on massive amounts of data, however collecting and processing massive amounts of data generated by network-edge devices is costly and inefficient, and poses serious risks to data privacy. As a new paradigm for statistical model training in distributed edge networks, federated learning (FL) enables data to participate in federated model training without being localized. This approach can be used to solve traditional machine learning problems of low data utilization, data privacy, and information security caused by data isolation. However, the defects of the FL framework and insecure network environments cause many security and privacy leakage problems in actual application scenarios of FL. First, the concepts, classifications, and fundamental FL principles were described. Second, the mainstream privacy security issues and classification of FL were investigated. Privacy security protection techniques for FL were then identified. Finally, challenges and future research directions for the development of FL privacy security are discussed.

Job Insecurity, Work Environment, and Job Satisfaction: An Investigation with a Mediating Role of Job Stress

This quantitative study aims to investigate the impact of job insecurity and work environment on job satisfaction, with job stress serving as the mediating variable, within the context of a manufacturing company. Data were collected from 54 employees through questionnaire surveys. The findings reveal that job insecurity and work environment have a significant influence on job satisfaction, with work-related stress playing a significant mediating role. Interestingly, job insecurity and work environment do not directly affect job satisfaction, but their effects are mediated by job stress. These results shed light on the complex interplay of factors influencing job satisfaction and highlight the importance of addressing job stress to enhance overall employee well-being and satisfaction in the workplace.
 Highlights:
 
 Job stress mediates the relationship between job insecurity and work environment with job satisfaction.
 Quantitative study conducted in a manufacturing company with 54 employee participants.
 Findings emphasize the importance of addressing job stress to enhance employee well-being and satisfaction in the workplace.
 
 Keywords: Job Insecurity, Work Environment, Job Satisfaction, Job Stress, Mediation

Partial-NOMA Based PLS: Following NOMA Decoding Principle or Enhanced Decoding Design?

In the insecure transmission environment, compared with the passive eavesdropper (Eve), the active Eve plays a more threatening role in the physical layer security (PLS), since it can wiretap and jam the signals. To simultaneously decrease the wiretap massage for Eve and improve secrecy outage probability (SOP) for the legitimate users, an enhanced decoding protocol in PLS is proposed for the device-to-device (D2D) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system under an active Eve attack. In addition, the partial NOMA (P-NOMA) is firstly introduced into PLS to further enhance the performance of the proposed system. The provided closed-forms of SOPs are verified via simulations, whose results show the superiority of our proposed schemes over the conventional NOMA schemes.

Do UN peace operations help forcibly displaced people?

Do UN missions reduce forced displacement? Facing insecure environments, civilians are left with three choices: staying; moving to a safer community; or moving outside their country. Their aspiration and ability to move depend on individual characteristics and macro-level factors, such as the social, economic and political context in which these people live. Research shows that UN missions can impact and reset the macro-level context altered by war, especially in the security and economic domain. However, we lack empirical evidence on whether this impact helps UN peacekeeping tackle forced displacement and returns. This article offers the first global analysis of whether and how UN missions can shape aggregate population movements during civil wars. We combine data on outflows and returns of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) with data on distinct UN missions’ features that we expect to affect population movements, namely the size of their contingents and their mandated tasks. Using matched samples, we find that the unfolding of the outflows and inflows processes are affected by different features of UN missions. Sizeable deployments decrease IDPs flows and encourage their return; refugee outflows, on the other hand, may increase in presence of UN missions. Furthermore, missions with displacement-related mandates are associated with decreasing IDP flows overall, but only encourage refugees’ returns.

Readiness of the Interns to work at rural area: a cross-sectional survey in a backward district of West Bengal

Background: The scarcity of qualified doctors in rural areas remains a critical challenge for the health sector in India Aim was to analyze the perception of medical students regarding upcoming compulsory rural posting for 1 year as a part of their rotatory internship Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a medical college of West Bengal among the interns during March 2019 to February 2020. By doing complete enumeration of the interns present at the end of their Community Medicine posting, the sample size became 125. Predesigned, semi structured questionnaire was used for data collection. At the end of community medicine posting, when the interns came to department for completion, the printed questionnaire were given to them for filled up by their own. Collected data were entered in MS excel spreadsheet and analyzed with the help of SPSS 22.0 version. Results: About 74% interns thought it was difficult to serve the rural areas however 52% felt it will enrich their professional skills and about 65% thought it would be beneficial to the rural community. Only 22.4% were in favour of rural posting during their internship and 46% thought paying bond money is a good way out. Lengthening of MBBS course, inadequate clinical exposure, poor connectivity, no job satisfaction, obstructed career growth, no quality of life, insecure working environment for women, excessive workload, inadequate monetary compensation were the major reasons identified by interns for noncompliance of compulsory rural service during internship. Conclusions: The policymakers and medical educators need to design newer strategies for the improvement of rural healthcare facility keeping in mind the perception of students regarding rural service in the present scenario.

Analysis of Ethereum Ghost Protocol under Blockchain Framework

This article discusses Ethereum Ghost Protocol, a technology that promises faster mining speeds. The Ghost protocol enables different crypto miners to create valid blocks concurrently. The article explains why the protocol reduces the delay in traditional blockchains through stale or uncle blocks. It explains why the Ghost Protocol is faster than Bitcoin. It also introduces areas in which Ethereum Ghost Protocol can work, such as insecure environments and Internet of Things (IoT). Besides, the paper defines centralization bias and explains how the Ghost Protocol solves the problem. Since the Ghost Protocol is decentralized and stores information in multiple nodes, it is more secure. Besides, it is scalable and saves storage space. Despite these benefits, this paper discusses two significant challenges, including slow transactions and difficulties in coding. However, the Ghost protocol will enhance cryptocurrency due to the ease of mining, enhanced security, and other benefits to miners. Overall, the paper suggests the need to embrace the Ghost protocol in the blockchain.

When politics is personal: Curating safe spaces through disconnection on instant messaging platforms

ABSTRACT While existing research suggests that the closed digital spaces of Instant Messaging (IM) platforms have important democratic implications, this study examines how users actively curate such spaces through disconnection. Using a mixed-method approach within the context of Hong Kong politics after the introduction of the National Security Law (NSL), we examine the extent to which and why IM users engage in disconnective behaviors (tie dissolution, content filtration), and explain the behaviors through socio-psychological and structural factors. Statistical analysis of survey data (N = 946) shows that encountering political disagreement on IM platforms predicts disconnection, which is strengthened by fear of social isolation and perceived systemic victimhood. Thematic analysis of open-ended survey questions contextualizes these findings: Through tie dissolution, IM users regulate their own visibility and remove problematic contacts to avoid being penalized by authorities and peers. By muting disagreeable content, they turn away from contentious political discourse perceived as risky and ineffective under the NSL to focus on personal and social well-being. Overall, we argue that disconnection is a necessary means to curate safe spaces of withdrawal to cope with an uncertain and insecure political environment – it follows the logic of self-care and is a product of social and systemic threats.

EXAMINING JOB STRESS AMONG INDONESIAN GEN Z EMPLOYEES USING JD-R MODEL

Job stress is an issue for Indonesian Gen Z to thrive in the workplace. This study aimed to examine job stress using the JD-R model. Job insecurity, workload, and work environment were used as independent variables. The research was conducted using quantitative research. 207 responses from Indonesian Gen Z employees working in startup/digital companies in Jakarta was gathered using questionnaire and statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 26. This research found that all variables have partial and simultaneous impact towards job stress. This seeks for companies to practice transparency and feedback with employees about the job future, workload, and work environment, as well as building a company culture that encourages employee growth. Keywords: gen Z, JD-R model, job insecurity, job stress, workload, work environment

Role of Pakistani Universities in promoting Culture of Peace for achieving Sustainable Development Goals

Higher education can play a key role in the framework of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address the world's environmental, economic, and societal issues. SDG16 promises to develop and promote a culture of peace by 2030. In this context, Pakistan is also committed to achieve this goal through education to develop a culture peace among entire society. The major objectives of the current study were to explore the role of universities in promoting a culture of peace and to identify the challenges faced by universities to promote a culture of peace. The present study was based on descriptive design. A qualitative research approach was adopted to achieve the objectives of the study. The sample of the study consisted of twenty-four chairpersons from the faculty of sciences and arts. For this purpose, data were collected through a semi-structured interview protocol. Thematic analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed some key roles of universities to promote peace including organizing public lectures, revising syllabi, and paradigm shifts. The study also identified some challenges including lack of awareness, an insecure environment, and a lack of budget. On the basis of the findings, the paper also suggests some measures to accelerate the process of developing a culture of peace.

‘I don’t know how we can stop ragging’: a qualitative study on the perceptions of staff and work-affiliated individuals at a Sri Lankan University, on the phenomena of ragging

ABSTRACT Ragging in Sri Lanka is a longstanding initiation ritual, similar to hazing and bullying. The severe harassment of new students by seniors has led to adverse consequences including depression, university dropouts and suicide. Although, a significant problem, research on ragging is scarce. This research aimed to explore how staff and work-affiliated individuals at Jaffna University resonate around the phenomenon of ragging. Seven focus group discussions and eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted. Foucauldian Discourse Analysis and Bandura’s Moral Disengagement theory were used to interpret the data. Three main discourses reflected the context: ragging as normal and necessary, insecurity and fear of reprisal, and voices of resistance. Participants often felt unsupported and therefore adapted their moral compasses to survive in this insecure environment. These findings demonstrate a fragmented approach to ragging that not only diminished any efforts towards elimination but affected how staff were forced to adjust their behavior to work in this environment. To address ragging, there is a need to adhere to a consistent strategy focusing on increasing awareness and supporting staff by holding accountable those at all levels of the administrative hierarchy in promoting a safe working environment for all.

State estimation for 2-D uncertain systems with redundant channels and deception attacks: A set-membership method

This paper considers the estimation issue of two-dimensional uncertain systems with redundant channels and randomly occurring deception attacks. The redundant channel transmission is applied to improve transmission reliability, with channel packet losses characterized by a set of mutually uncorrelated random variables that follow the Bernoulli distribution. To simulate the random deception attacks, a Bernoulli distribution-based sequence is employed. The purpose of this study is to build a set-membership estimator for the considered system with redundant channels in the insecure network environment that limits the state estimate error to a predetermined ellipsoidal area. By employing the set-membership method with the mathematical induction technique, sufficient criteria are derived to guarantee the expected estimated performance. In addition, an optimization algorithm is further provided to ensure locally optimal estimation performance. Finally, a numerical simulation of the suggested set-membership estimation technique is presented to demonstrate its usefulness.

Characterizing Social Insecurity in a Rural North Carolina Emergency Department.

Social insecurity, a form of deprivation of social amenities, if present among patients presenting in a rural emergency department (ED) can be a source of medical burden and poor health outcomes. Although knowledge and understanding of the insecurity profile of such patients is necessary for targeted care that improves their health outcomes, the concept has not been comprehensively quantified. In this study we explored, characterized, and quantified the social insecurity profile of ED patients at a rural teaching hospital in southeastern North Carolina with a large Native American population. A paper survey questionnaire was administered by trained research assistants between May-June 2018 to patients who presented to the ED and consented to participate in this cross-sectional, single-center study. The survey was anonymous with no identifying information collected on the respondents. A general demographic section and questions derived from the literature capturing sub-constructs of social insecurity-communication access, access to transportation, housing insecurity and home environment, food insecurity, and exposure to violence-were captured in the survey. We assessed the factors included in the index of social insecurity based on a rank ordering using the magnitude of their coefficient of variation and the Cronbach's alpha reliability index of the constituent items. Overall, we collected 312 surveys from the approximately 445 administered and included them in the analysis, representing a response rate of about 70%. The average age of the 312 respondents was 45.1 (±17.7) years with a range of 18.0-96.0. More females (54.2%) than males participated in the survey. Native Americans (34.3%), Blacks (33.7%), and Whites (27.6%) comprised the three major racial/ethnicity groups of the sample, which are representative of the study area's population distribution. Social insecurity was observed among this population regarding all the subdomains and an overall measure (P <.001). We identified three key determinants of social insecurity-food insecurity, transportation insecurity, and exposure to violence. Social insecurity significantly differed overall and among the three of its key constituent domains by patients' race/ethnicity and gender (P <.05). Emergency department visits in a rural North Carolina teaching hospital are characterized by a diverse patient population, including patients with some degree of social insecurity. Historically marginalized and minoritized groups including Native Americans and Blacks demonstrated overall higher rates of social insecurity and higher indexes on exposure to violence than their White counterparts. Such patients struggle with basic needs such as food, transportation, and safety. As social factors play a critical role in health outcomes, supporting the social well-being of a historically marginalized and minoritized rural community would likely help build the foundation for safe livelihood with improved and sustainable health outcomes. The need for a more valid and psychometrically desirable measurement tool of social insecurity among ED populations is compelling.

Security of Neural Network-Based Key Agreement Protocol for Smart Grids

Recent developments in quantum computing pose a significant threat to the asymmetric cryptography currently in use. Neural cryptography offers a potential alternative that is resistant to attacks of known quantum computer algorithms. The considered solution is lightweight and computationally efficient. If a quantum computer algorithm were successfully implemented, it could expose IoT sensors and smart grid components to a wide range of attack vectors. Given the lightweight nature of neural cryptography and the potential risks, neural cryptography could have potential applications in both IoT sensors and smart grid systems. This paper evaluates one of the suggested enhancements: the use of integer-valued input vectors that accelerate the synchronization of the Tree Parity Machine. This enhancement introduces a new parameter M that indicates the minimum and maximum values of input vector elements. This study evaluates the nonbinary version of the mutual learning algorithm in a simulated insecure environment. The results indicate that, while the Nonbinary Tree Parity Machine may involve some trade-offs between security and synchronization time, the speed improvement is more substantial than the decrease in security. The impact of this enhancement is particularly significant for smaller adjustments to parameter M.

Global Scientific Trends on Healthy Eating from 2002 to 2021: A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis.

Diet has been recognized as a vital risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), climate changes, and increasing population, which has been reflected by a rapidly growing body of the literature related to healthy eating. To reveal a panorama of the topics related to healthy eating, this study aimed to characterize and visualize the knowledge structure, hotspots, and trends in this field over the past two decades through bibliometric analyses. Publications related to healthy eating between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2021 were retrieved and extracted from the Web of Science database. The characteristics of articles including publication years, journals, authors, institutions, countries/regions, references, and keywords were assessed. The analyses on co-authorship, co-occurrence, and co-citation were performed and network visualization maps were constructed by VOSviewer. Major subdomains identified by bibliometrics were further discussed and analyzed. A total of 12,442 articles on healthy eating were identified. Over the past two decades, the annual global publications increased from 71 to 1764, showing a nearly 25-fold growth. The journal Nutrients published the most articles and The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition possessed the highest citations. The United States, Harvard University, and Hu, Frank B. were identified as the most productive and influential country, institution, and author, respectively. The co-occurrence cluster analysis of the top 100 keywords formed four clusters: (1) the food insecurity environment for youths highlighting the necessity and significance of implementing healthy eating in early life; (2) sustainable advantages of the Mediterranean diet; (3) the importance of an overall healthy lifestyle optimization leveraged by eHealth; (4) the challenges during the course of healthy eating against obesity, which are prominent in reflecting the knowledge structure, hotspots, and trends. Moreover, COVID-19, orthorexia nervosa, sustainability, microbiota, food insecurity, and e-health are identified keywords that represented the latest high-frequency keywords and indicated the emerging frontiers of healthy eating. This study indicates that the number of publications on healthy eating will increase in the future and that healthy dietary patterns and clinical applications of healthy eating will be the next hotspots in this research field.

The ordoliberal internet? Continuity and change in the EU’s approach to the governance of cyberspace

AbstractThis Article considers the role of ideas in shaping law and policy processes, serving to facilitate certain actions or approaches while curtailing others. Using the development of the EU’s governance approach to online service providers and platforms, this Article demonstrates how ordoliberalism as a set of beliefs regarding the regulation of market activity through law have shaped the understanding of appropriate measures for combating hybrid threats such as disinformation. Highlighting the origins of the E-Commerce Directive and the influence of ordoliberalism in the application of a regulated self-regulation model, the Article explores how ordoliberal philosophical ideas have influenced programme and policy level ideas concerning EU cyberspace governance as it relates to online platform activities. Even where there has been discursive change regarding the role of online platforms in contributing to an environment of insecurity, there has nevertheless been ideational continuity in the approach to their regulation, dictating the legal response in the Digital Services Act.

Elder abuse: a conceptual analysis.

to analyze the concept of elder abuse and identify its respective antecedents, attributes and consequents. this is a conceptual analysis according to Walker and Avant's proposition. The search for the concept was mediated by an integrative review in the LILACS, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science and BDENF databases. as antecedents, female, family member, low social support and low income or socioeconomic conditions stand out. Attributes were threats and/or intimidation, intentional use of physical force, using resources without authorization, unwanted sexual activity, offering low insufficient amount of nutrients for older adults and not meeting older adults' affective/emotional needs. Consequents were psychological disorders, dependence on aggressors, environment of insecurity and damage/loss of human rights or human dignity. the phenomenon under discussion is broad and multifaceted, suggesting expansion of studies related to the theme in order to explore it in detail.

O ambiente inseguro

O ambiente inseguro

The insecure environment

The insecure environment

Climate change aggravating migration and health issues in the African context: The views and direct experiences of a community of interest in the field

Climate change is an increasingly important theme in Africa, where a large majority of its people depend on livestock and agricultural activities for livelihood. Concurrently, the topic of health of migrants and people on the move is rapidly raising both in the health debate and migration governance agenda in the Region. The link with climate change from the perspective of health and migration experts needs to be systematically addressed. ObjectivesThe article aims to contribute to the discourse on the interrelation of climate change, migration, and health by providing contributions of experts in the field of health and migration directly working with migrant and refugee communities in Africa. MethodsA webinar was conducted to collect and discuss first-hand experience with 25 participants from a postgraduate online course on health and migration funded by the Austrian Government and implemented in a co-operation of the Center for Health and Migration, Austria, with Makerere University, Uganda, the International Organization for Migration – UN Migration, and Lancet-Migration. As a result from the discussions, two cases from Sudan and Zimbabwe were selected to be further analysed with desk research to illustrate and underpin the points made. ResultsAll webinar participants reported to encounter climate change effects on health and migration in their professional practice. In their experience, climate change aggravates issues of health and migration by fueling forced migration and displacement, increasing health care needs, and deteriorating access to health care. Specific health challenges were identified for mental health problems caused by effects of climate change-induced migration, which remain widely undiagnosed and untreated, and the special affectedness of women and girls, with their mental, sexual and reproductive health severely deteriorated in insecure environments. The case studies from Sudan and Zimbabwe underline these observations. ConclusionsThe interplay of effects of climate change, (internal) migration, and health is reported by a community of experts in the field of health and migration who are residing in Africa and working with migrant communities. Webinars prove to be an easy to implement tool to collect first hand evidence from practice experts, to foster exchange of experiences, and to get people engaged in further collaboration and discussion.

Self-entrepreneurship in uncertain futures: The case of performing artists in Italy

This article contributes to contemporary debates on self-entrepreneurship in cultural work by focusing on project-based theatre actors in Italy. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the study considers performing artists’ narratives of success, unsuccess, and future expectations to shed light on how entrepreneurial projects are negotiated in neoliberal cultural work. The article expands current research by considering how self-entrepreneurial projects are lived out in insecure working environments, taking into account a geographical area and a creative sector often overlooked by studies of creative labour. In a context where precariousness is normalised, actors’ discourses point at the emergence of disaffection towards neoliberal entrepreneurial ideals of autonomy and competition and to the loss of a progressive idea of biographical projects. The research highlights that an ongoing status of insecurity can mine optimistic and entrepreneurial orientations, questioning the sustainability of neoliberal ethos of work as a future-oriented project in times of enhanced insecurity.