Comparison of historic exploration with contemporary space policy suggests a retheorisation of settings

The 2008 NASA Astrobiology Roadmap provides one way of theorising this developing field, a way which has become the normative model for the discipline: science-and scholarship-driven funding for space. By contrast, a novel re-evaluation of funding policies is undertaken in this article to reframe astrobiology, terraforming and associated space travel and research. Textual visualisation, discourse and numeric analytical methods, and value theory are applied to historical data and contemporary sources to re-investigate significant drivers and constraints on the mechanisms of enabling space exploration. Two data sets are identified and compared: the business objectives and outcomes of major 15th-17th century European joint-stock exploration and trading companies and a case study of a current space industry entrepreneur company. Comparison of these analyses suggests that viable funding policy drivers can exist outside the normative science and scholarship-driven roadmap. The two drivers identified in this study are (1) the intrinsic value of space as a territory to be experienced and enjoyed, not just studied, and (2) the instrumental, commercial value of exploiting these experiences by developing infrastructure and retail revenues. Filtering of these results also offers an investment rationale for companies operating in, or about to enter, the space business marketplace.

The mirror manoeuvre : telling the same story twice

The emerging field of ecopsychology is marked by two theoretical concerns which can be seen as mirror images of each other. One is the concern with what humans need, psychologically, from the non-human natural world (e.g. Wolsko & Lindberg 2013). The other is what nature needs from us (e.g. Swim 2013). Ecocriticism has been exploring these questions for at least two decades, but ecocritical theory examines ways of reading texts rather than ways of writing them (Bate 2000; Buell 2001; Garrard 2012). Undertaking theoretically-informed “creative manoeuvres”, and reflecting and reporting on the results, is one way for practice-led researchers in the field of creative writing to progress the knowledge claims of our discipline. This paper describes an ecowriting practice experiment based on the premise that specific techniques of narrative fiction writing can deepen reader engagement with ecopsychology’s twin concerns, and help motivate ecological action. Exploring this premise is time-critical given the current environmental crisis (Rust & Totton 2012), and emerging evidence that contemporary modes of representing the non-human natural world fail to elicit activist responses (Crompton & Kasser 2009; Joffe 2008). In the practice experiment reported here, a unique reading experience has been constructed such that the reader encounters from two different perspectives, through two different novels, a single story of humans benefiting from non-destructive interactions with non-human nature. This paper argues that the two novels create a complex and intense relationship between reader and story which generates specific psychological effects, and ultimately demands an activist response.

Multiple-time signature schemes against adaptive chosen message attacks

Multiple-time signatures are digital signature schemes where the signer is able to sign a predetermined number of messages. They are interesting cryptographic primitives because they allow to solve many important cryptographic problems, and at the same time offer substantial efficiency advantage over ordinary digital signature schemes like RSA. Multiple-time signature schemes have found numerous applications, in ordinary, on-line/off-line, forward-secure signatures, and multicast/stream authentication. We propose a multiple-time signature scheme with very efficient signing and verifying. Our construction is based on a combination of one-way functions and cover-free families, and it is secure against the adaptive chosen-message attack.

Understanding the abnormal brain activity in epilepsy as a potential predictor of the onset of an epileptic seizure

The Brain Research Institute (BRI) uses various types of indirect measurements, including EEG and fMRI, to understand and assess brain activity and function. As well as the recovery of generic information about brain function, research also focuses on the utilisation of such data and understanding to study the initiation, dynamics, spread and suppression of epileptic seizures. To assist with the future focussing of this aspect of their research, the BRI asked the MISG 2010 participants to examine how the available EEG and fMRI data and current knowledge about epilepsy should be analysed and interpreted to yield an enhanced understanding about brain activity occurring before, at commencement of, during, and after a seizure. Though the deliberations of the study group were wide ranging in terms of the related matters considered and discussed, considerable progress was made with the following three aspects. (1) The science behind brain activity investigations depends crucially on the quality of the analysis and interpretation of, as well as the recovery of information from, EEG and fMRI measurements. A number of specific methodologies were discussed and formalised, including independent component analysis, principal component analysis, profile monitoring and change point analysis (hidden Markov modelling, time series analysis, discontinuity identification). (2) Even though EEG measurements accurately and very sensitively record the onset of an epileptic event or seizure, they are, from the perspective of understanding the internal initiation and localisation, of limited utility. They only record neuronal activity in the cortical (surface layer) neurons of the brain, which is a direct reflection of the type of electrical activity they have been designed to record. Because fMRI records, through the monitoring of blood flow activity, the location of localised brain activity within the brain, the possibility of combining fMRI measurements with EEG, as a joint inversion activity, was discussed and examined in detail. (3) A major goal for the BRI is to improve understanding about ``when'' (at what time) an epileptic seizure actually commenced before it is identified on an eeg recording, ``where'' the source of this initiation is located in the brain, and ``what'' is the initiator. Because of the general agreement in the literature that, in one way or another, epileptic events and seizures represent abnormal synchronisations of localised and/or global brain activity the modelling of synchronisations was examined in some detail. References C. M. Michel, G. Thut, S. Morand, A. Khateb, A. J. Pegna, R. Grave de Peralta, S. Gonzalez, M. Seeck and T. Landis, Electric source imaging of human brain functions, Brain Res. 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Verifiable multi-secret sharing schemes for multiple threshold access structures

A multi-secret sharing scheme allows several secrets to be shared amongst a group of participants. In 2005, Shao and Cao developed a verifiable multi-secret sharing scheme where each participant’s share can be used several times which reduces the number of interactions between the dealer and the group members. In addition some secrets may require a higher security level than others involving the need for different threshold values. Recently Chan and Chang designed such a scheme but their construction only allows a single secret to be shared per threshold value. In this article we combine the previous two approaches to design a multiple time verifiable multi-secret sharing scheme where several secrets can be shared for each threshold value. Since the running time is an important factor for practical applications, we will provide a complexity comparison of our combined approach with respect to the previous schemes.

Practical Advice for Entrepreneurs

I am interested in the psychology of entrepreneurship—how entrepreneurs think, decide to act, and feel. I recently realized that while my publications in academic journals have implications for entrepreneurs, those implications have remained relatively hidden in the text of the articles and hidden in articles published in journals largely inaccessible to those involved in the entrepreneurial process. This book is designed to bring the practical implications of my research to the forefront. I decided to take a different approach with this book and not write it for a publisher. I did this because I wanted the ideas to be freely available: (1) I wanted those interested in practical advice for entrepreneurs to be able to freely download, distribute, and use this information (I only ask that the content be properly cited), (2) I wanted to release the chapters independently and make chapters available as they are finished, and; (3) I wanted this work to be a dialogue rather than a one-way conversation—I hope readers email me feedback (positive and negative) so that I can use this information to revise the book. In producing the journal articles underpinning this book, I have had the pleasure of working with many talented and wonderful colleagues—they are cited at the end of each chapter. I hope you find some of the advice in this book useful.

Differences in physical activity between black and white girls living in rural and urban areas

This study examined the relationship of race and rural/urban setting to physical, behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental factors associated with physical activity. Subjects included 1,668 eighth-grade girls from 31 middle schools: 933 from urban settings, and 735 from rural settings. Forty-six percent of urban girls and 59% of rural girls were Black. One-way and two-way ANOVAs with school as a covariate were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that most differences were associated with race rather than setting. Black girls were less active than White girls, reporting significantly fewer 30-minute blocks of both vigorous and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Black girls also spent more time watching television, and had higher BMIs and greater prevalence of overweight than White girls. However, enjoyment of physical education and family involvement in physical activity were greater among Black girls titan White girls. Rural White girls and urban Black girls had more favorable attitudes toward physical activity. Access to sports equipment, perceived safety of neighborhood, and physical activity self-efficacy were higher in White girls than Black girls.

Promoting physical activity to older adults in general practice

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a general practice based intervention to increase physical activity (PA) levels among 50-70 year old adults. One hundred and thirty-six inactive patients (50-70 years) were randomised into three groups. All participants received brief advice and a written prescription from a GP. Group one received this 'usual care' only (GP, n=46); group two received individualised counselling and follow-up contact from an Exercise Scientist (ES, n=45); group three received a pedometer to supplement the ES counselling (PED, n=45). The Active Australia Survey was administered at baseline, after the 12- week intervention and at a 24-week follow-up. One-way ANOVA showed no significant group differences at baseline in self-reported PA. Average time spent walking increased in all three groups at the 24-week follow-up (GP, 68158min/wk, p=0.006; ES, 83160min/wk, p=0.001; PED, 87132min/wk, p<0.001). Total time in PA (weighted min/wk) also increased significantly in all three groups (GP, 98 213min/wk, p=0.003; ES, 108 182min/wk, p<0.001; PED, 158 229min/wk, p<0.001 ). The proportion of participants who initially did not meet National PA Guidelines (150 minutes and 5 sessions/week) but who met the Guidelines at the 12 and 24-week follow-up was 15% (12 weeks) and 20% (24 weeks) in the GP group compared with 36% and 24% in the ES group and 20% and 42% in the PED group. All three intervention strategies were effective in increasing PA, but the ES intervention resulted in a higher proportion of active participants after 12 weeks and the PED group resulted in a higher proportion of active participants after 24 weeks.

Promoting physical activity to older adults through general practice

This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a general practice based intervention to increase physical activity (PA) levels among 50-70 year old adults. One hundred and thirty-six inactive patients (50-70 years) were randomised into three groups. All participants received brief advice and a written prescription from a GP. Group one received this 'usual care' only (GP, n=46); group two received individualised counselling and follow-up contact from an Exercise Scientist (ES, n=45); group three received a pedometer to supplement the ES counselling (PED, n=45). The Active Australia Survey was administered at baseline, after the 12- week intervention and at a 24-week follow-up. One-way ANOVA showed no significant group differences at baseline in self-reported PA. Average time spent walking increased in all three groups at the 24-week follow-up (GP, 68158min/wk, p=0.006; ES, 83160min/wk, p=0.001; PED, 87132min/wk, p<0.001). Total time in PA (weighted min/wk) also increased significantly in all three groups (GP, 98 213min/wk, p=0.003; ES, 108 182min/wk, p<0.001; PED, 158 229min/wk, p<0.001 ). The proportion of participants who initially did not meet National PA Guidelines (150 minutes and 5 sessions/week) but who met the Guidelines at the 12 and 24-week follow-up was 15% (12 weeks) and 20% (24 weeks) in the GP group compared with 36% and 24% in the ES group and 20% and 42% in the PED group. All three intervention strategies were effective in increasing PA, but the ES intervention resulted in a higher proportion of active participants after 12 weeks and the PED group resulted in a higher proportion of active participants after 24 weeks.

Embedded creatives in the Australian manufacturing industry

According to 2011 Australian Census figures, embedded creative employees (creative employees not working in the core Creative Industries) make up 2 per cent (or a total of 17 635) of manufacturing industry employees. The average for all industries is 1.6 per cent. In the 2011–2012 financial year the manufacturing industry formed 7.3 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP), contributing approximately AU$106.5 billion to the economy (Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education 2013). Manufacturing is central to innovation, accounting for over one-quarter of all business expenditure in R&D in 2010–2011, representing around AU$4.8 billion invested in R&D (ibid.). Facing challenges such as sustainability concerns, ever-increasing offshore production and the global financial crisis, the Australian manufacturing industry needs to remain relevant and competitive to succeed. Innovation is one way to do this. Given the contribution of the manufacturing industry to the Australian economy, and the above-average portion of embedded creatives in manufacturing, it is important to consider what exactly embedded creatives add to the industry. This chapter, inspired by the Getting Creative in Healthcare report (Pagan, Higgs and Cunningham 2008), examines the contribution of embedded creatives to innovation in the manufacturing industry via case studies and supplemental data.

More than a backchannel : Twitter and television

Twitter is a social media service that has managed very successfully to embed itself deeply in the daily lives of its users. Its short message length (140 characters), and one-way connections (‘following’ rather than ‘friending’), lead themselves effectively to random and regular updates on almost any form of personal or professional activity. Thus, it has found uses from the interpersonal (e.g. Boyd et al., 2010) through crisis communication (e.g. Bruns et al., 2012), to political debate (e.g. Burgess & Bruns, 2012). In such uses, Twitter does not necessarily replace existing media channels, such as broadcasting or online mainstream media, but often complements them, providing its users with alternative opportunities to contribute more actively to the wider media sphere. This is true especially where Twitter is used alongside television, as a simple backchannel to live programming or for more sophisticated uses. In this article, we outline four aspects and dimensions, of the way that the old medium of television intersects, and in some cases, interacts with the new medium of Twitter. Tweeting about the television has always been a social media form. It has also consistently provided key ‘talking points’ for western societies...

Parallel authentication and public-key encryption

A parallel authentication and public-key encryption is introduced and exemplified on joint encryption and signing which compares favorably with sequential Encrypt-then-Sign (ɛtS) or Sign-then-Encrypt (Stɛ) schemes as far as both efficiency and security are concerned. A security model for signcryption, and thus joint encryption and signing, has been recently defined which considers possible attacks and security goals. Such a scheme is considered secure if the encryption part guarantees indistinguishability and the signature part prevents existential forgeries, for outsider but also insider adversaries. We propose two schemes of parallel signcryption, which are efficient alternative to Commit-then-Sign-and- Encrypt (Ct&G3&S). They are both provably secure in the random oracle model. The first one, called generic parallel encrypt and sign, is secure if the encryption scheme is semantically secure against chosen-ciphertext attacks and the signature scheme prevents existential forgeries against random-message attacks. The second scheme, called optimal parallel encrypt. and sign, applies random oracles similar to the OAEP technique in order to achieve security using encryption and signature components with very weak security requirements — encryption is expected to be one-way under chosen-plaintext attacks while signature needs to be secure against universal forgeries under random-plaintext attack, that is actually the case for both the plain-RSA encryption and signature under the usual RSA assumption. Both proposals are generic in the sense that any suitable encryption and signature schemes (i.e. which simply achieve required security) can be used. Furthermore they allow both parallel encryption and signing, as well as parallel decryption and verification. Properties of parallel encrypt and sign schemes are considered and a new security standard for parallel signcryption is proposed.

Models of social media adoption in emergency management organisations

Recent natural disasters such as the Haitian earthquake 2011, the South East Queensland floods 2011, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in the United States of America in 2012, have seen social media platforms changing the face of emergency management communications, not only in times of crisis and also during business-as-usual operations. With social media being such an important and powerful communication tool, especially for emergency management organisations, the question arises as to whether the use of social media in these organisations emerged by considered strategic design or more as a reactive response to a new and popular communication channel. This paper provides insight into how the social media function has been positioned, staffed and managed in organisations throughout the world, with a particular focus on how these factors influence the style of communication used on social media platforms. This study has identified that the social media function falls on a continuum between two polarised models, namely the authoritative one-way communication approach and the more interactive approach that seeks to network and engage with the community through multi-way communication. Factors such the size of the organisation; dedicated resourcing of the social media function; organisational culture and mission statement; the presence of a social media champion within the organisation; management style and knowledge about social media play a key role in determining where on the continuum organisations sit in relation to their social media capability. This review, together with a forthcoming survey of Australian emergency management organisations and local governments, will fill a gap in the current body of knowledge about the evolution, positioning and usage of social media in organisations working in the emergency management field in Australia. These findings will be fed back to Industry for potential inclusion in future strategies and practices.

A public perspective on the adoption of microgeneration technologies in New Zealand: A multivariate probit approach

The growing demand for electricity in New Zealand has led to the construction of new hydro-dams or power stations that have had environmental, social and cultural effects. These effects may drive increases in electricity prices, as such prices reflect the cost of running existing power stations as well as building new ones. This study uses Canterbury and Central Otago as case studies because both regions face similar issues in building new hydro-dams and ever-increasing electricity prices that will eventually prompt households to buy power at higher prices. One way for households to respond to these price changes is to generate their own electricity through microgeneration technologies (MGT). The objective of this study is to investigate public perception and preferences regarding MGT and to analyze the factors that influence people's decision to adopt such new technologies in New Zealand. The study uses a multivariate probit approach to examine households' willingness to adopt any one MGT system or a combination of the MGT systems. Our findings provide valuable information for policy makers and marketers who wish to promote effective microgeneration technologies.

Demand for refilled reusable products

The conversion of one-way polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into reusable bottles helps reduce environmental burden. Recently, the Ministry of the Environment in Japan began discussing the introduction of reusable bottles. One of the barriers to introducing the new type of bottle is consumer unwillingness to accept refilled reusable bottles. We administered the questionnaires to consumers in a pilot test on reusable PET bottles organized to analyze the demand for these products. To increase the demand for refilled reusable bottles, it is necessary to supply refilled reusable bottles that are acceptable to consumers who are concerned about container flaws and stains.