Trust based security mechanisms for wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are emerging as effective tools in the gathering and dissemination of data. They can be applied in many fields including health, environmental monitoring, home automation and the military. Like all other computing systems it is necessary to include security features, so that security sensitive data traversing the network is protected. However, traditional security techniques cannot be applied to wireless sensor networks. This is due to the constraints of battery power, memory, and the computational capacities of the miniature wireless sensor nodes. Therefore, to address this need, it becomes necessary to develop new lightweight security protocols. This dissertation focuses on designing a suite of lightweight trust-based security mechanisms and a cooperation enforcement protocol for wireless sensor networks. This dissertation presents a trust-based cluster head election mechanism used to elect new cluster heads. This solution prevents a major security breach against the routing protocol, namely, the election of malicious or compromised cluster heads. This dissertation also describes a location-aware, trust-based, compromise node detection, and isolation mechanism. Both of these mechanisms rely on the ability of a node to monitor its neighbors. Using neighbor monitoring techniques, the nodes are able to determine their neighbors’ reputation and trust level through probabilistic modeling. The mechanisms were designed to mitigate internal attacks within wireless sensor networks. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through extensive simulations. The dissertation also addresses non-cooperation problems in multi-user wireless sensor networks. A scalable lightweight enforcement algorithm using evolutionary game theory is also designed. The effectiveness of this cooperation enforcement algorithm is validated through mathematical analysis and simulation. This research has advanced the knowledge of wireless sensor network security and cooperation by developing new techniques based on mathematical models. By doing this, we have enabled others to build on our work towards the creation of highly trusted wireless sensor networks. This would facilitate its full utilization in many fields ranging from civilian to military applications.

Influence of Restaurant Reviews Upon Consumers

It is generally believed that restaurant reviews can influence consumers' decisions in choosing a restaurant. A survey administered to a sample of 420 college faculty and staff members suggests that while most restaurant patrons may read reviews, they are not used as the sole selection criterion. Recommendations of friends, the restaurant's current reputation, and perceived value may have greater influence upon the choice than does a re- view. The authors discuss the implications of both favorable and unfavorable reviews.

Trust Based Security Mechanisms for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks are emerging as effective tools in the gathering and dissemination of data. They can be applied in many fields including health, environmental monitoring, home automation and the military. Like all other computing systems it is necessary to include security features, so that security sensitive data traversing the network is protected. However, traditional security techniques cannot be applied to wireless sensor networks. This is due to the constraints of battery power, memory, and the computational capacities of the miniature wireless sensor nodes. Therefore, to address this need, it becomes necessary to develop new lightweight security protocols. This dissertation focuses on designing a suite of lightweight trust-based security mechanisms and a cooperation enforcement protocol for wireless sensor networks. This dissertation presents a trust-based cluster head election mechanism used to elect new cluster heads. This solution prevents a major security breach against the routing protocol, namely, the election of malicious or compromised cluster heads. This dissertation also describes a location-aware, trust-based, compromise node detection, and isolation mechanism. Both of these mechanisms rely on the ability of a node to monitor its neighbors. Using neighbor monitoring techniques, the nodes are able to determine their neighbors’ reputation and trust level through probabilistic modeling. The mechanisms were designed to mitigate internal attacks within wireless sensor networks. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated through extensive simulations. The dissertation also addresses non-cooperation problems in multi-user wireless sensor networks. A scalable lightweight enforcement algorithm using evolutionary game theory is also designed. The effectiveness of this cooperation enforcement algorithm is validated through mathematical analysis and simulation. This research has advanced the knowledge of wireless sensor network security and cooperation by developing new techniques based on mathematical models. By doing this, we have enabled others to build on our work towards the creation of highly trusted wireless sensor networks. This would facilitate its full utilization in many fields ranging from civilian to military applications.

Corporate Social Responsibility no sector bancário

Vivemos num mundo globalizado onde as exigências são diversas e constantemente presentes. É impossível analisar a área social, económica ou ambiental de forma isolada. A visão que relaciona o mundo empresarial com a sociedade e que lhe reconhece obrigações e responsabilidades para com a mesma não é nova e tem vindo a obter uma importância e visibilidade crescentes. O conceito corporate social responsibility (CSR) tem sido objecto de grande enfoque, sobretudo desde os anos cinquenta do século passado. Todavia, este conceito não tem permanecido inalterado com o passar do tempo. Desde a referida década até à actualidade verifica-se um desenvolvimento notório da definição de CSR, das suas vertentes, do binómio mundo empresarial e social e de alguns conceitos conexos como sejam corporate citizenship, business ethics e sustainability. Actualmente a maioria da doutrina que versa sobre o tema aceita, de forma pacífica, que o mundo empresarial não se pode fechar sobre si próprio pretendendo alcançar ganhos e visibilidade demitindo-se da responsabilidade para com a sociedade onde se encontra inserido. Compreende-se que a interligação entre a esfera económica, social e ambiental permite às empresas diversos benefícios, nomeadamente a viabilização de projectos a longo prazo, prestígio, notoriedade e a vantagem competitiva face às suas concorrentes. O objectivo do presente trabalho é demonstrar a evolução do conceito de CSR, nas suas várias vertentes, o impacto e os benefícios decorrentes das actuações empresarias compatíveis com este conceito e verificar, no que ao sector bancário respeita, se os clientes destas instituições conhecem os projectos sociais, pelas mesmas desenvolvidos e se a realização destes projectos possuem impacto na relação cliente/banco.

Writing disenchantment: British First World War Prose, 1914-30.

This book argues that disenchantment is not only a response to wartime experience, but a condition of modernity with a language that finds extreme expression in First World War literature. The objects of disenchantment are often the very same as the enchantments of scientific progress: bureaucracy, homogenisation and capitalism. Older beliefs such as religion, courage and honour are kept in view, and endure longer than often is realised. Social critics, theorists and commentators of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries provide a rich and previously unexplored context for wartime and post-war literature. The rise of the disenchanted narrative to its predominance in the War Books Boom of 1928 – 1930 is charted from the turn of the century in texts, archival material, sales and review data. Rarely-studied popular and middlebrow novels are analysed alongside well-known highbrow texts: D. H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, H. G. Wells and Rebecca West rub shoulders with forgotten figures such as Gilbert Frankau and Ernest Raymond. These sometimes jarring juxtapositions show the strained relationship between enchantment and disenchantment in the war and the post-war decade.

'Expanding Horizons': investigating the Glasgow 2014 legacy for young people in the East End of Glasgow

The recent staging of Glasgow 2014 drew universal praise as the ‘Best Games Ever’. Yet the substantial undertaking of hosting the Commonwealth Games (CWG) was sold to the nation as more than just eleven days of sporting spectacle and cultural entertainment. Indeed, the primary strategic justification offered by policymakers and city leaders was the delivery of a bundle of positive and enduring benefits, so-called ‘legacy’. This ubiquitous and amorphous concept has evolved over time to become the central focus of contemporary hosting bids, reflecting a general public policy shift towards using major sporting mega events as a catalyst to generate benefits across economic, environmental and social dimensions, on a scale intended to be truly transformative. At the same time, the academy has drawn attention to the absence of evidence in support of the prevailing legacy rhetoric and raised a number of sociological concerns, not least the socially unequitable distribution of purported benefits. This study investigated how young people living in the core hosting zone related to, and were impacted upon, by the CWG and its associated developments and activities with reference to their socio-spatial horizons, the primary outcome of interest. An ‘ideal world’ Logic Model hypothesised that four mechanisms, identified from official legacy documents and social theories, would alter young people’s subjective readings of the world by virtue of broadening their social networks, extending their spatial boundaries and altering their mind sets. A qualitative methodology facilitated the gathering of situated and contextualised accounts of young people’s attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and behaviours relating to Glasgow 2014. In-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted before and after the Games with 26 young people, aged 14-16 years, at two schools in the East End. This approach was instrumental in privileging the interests of people ‘on the ground’ over those of city-wide and national stakeholders. The findings showed that young people perceived the dominant legacy benefit to be an improved reputation and image for Glasgow and the East End. Primary beneficiaries were identified by them as those with vested business interests e.g. retailers, restaurateurs, and hoteliers, as well as national and local government, with low expectations of personal dividends or ‘trickle down’ benefits. Support for Glasgow 2014 did not necessarily translate into individual engagement with the various cultural and sporting activities leading up to the CWG, including the event itself. The study found that young people who engaged most were those who had the ability to ‘read’ the opportunities available to them and who had the social, cultural and economic capital necessary to grasp them, with the corollary that those who might have gained most were the least likely to have engaged with the CWG. Doubts articulated by research participants about the social sustainability of Glasgow 2014 underscored inherent tensions between the short-lived thrill of the spectacle and the anticipated longevity of its impacts. The headline message is that hosting sporting mega events might not be an effective means of delivering social change. Aspirant host cities should consider more socially equitable alternatives to sporting mega events prior to bidding; and future host cities should endeavour to engage more purposefully with more young people over longer time frames.

ANNUAL REPORT 2012-13

This annual report from the Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics at the Citadel states the overall goals of the Center for 2012-13, the progress made on those goals and the mission and goals for academic year 2013-14. Included in those goals are champion The Citadel mission, establish / sustain a model leadership and ethics center, enhance The Citadel’s reputation and provide cutting edge leadership education programs for Citadel cadets, CGC students, faculty, and staff.

ANNUAL REPORT 2013-14

This annual report from the Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics at the Citadel states the overall goals of the Center for 2013-14, the progress made on those goals and the mission and goals for academic year 2014-15. Included in those goals are champion The Citadel mission, establish / sustain a model leadership and ethics center, enhance The Citadel’s reputation and provide cutting edge leadership education programs for Citadel cadets, CGC students, faculty, and staff.

ANNUAL REPORT 2014-15

This annual report from the Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics at the Citadel states the overall goals of the Center for 2014-15 the progress made on those goals and the mission and goals for academic year 2015-16. Included in those goals are champion The Citadel mission, establish / sustain a model leadership and ethics center, enhance The Citadel’s reputation and provide cutting edge leadership education programs for Citadel cadets, CGC students, faculty, and staff.

Formulação do quadro estratégico e plano de marketing da Fundação Rebikoff-Niggeler

Mestrado em Marketing

The decline of ameriquest : a case study

In the subprime lending market, Ameriquest Mortgage Company is one of the leading lenders. It is widely known for its advertising slogan of “proud sponsor of the American dream.” Yet in 2006, an investigation into unlawful mortgage lending practices and the subsequent $325 million multi-State settlement brought even more attention to this company. What caused this lawsuit which brought irreparable damage to its reputation and financial loss for Ameriquest? This study focuses on the Information System Security management of the company. The study first introduces Ameriquest, and then briefly describes the lawsuit and settlement, and then discusses the IS security control in Ameriquest. The discussion will cover the internal control, external control, and technical controls of the company.

Estrategias para la mejora de la reputación organizacional de Ecosistec S.A.S

Al interior de la empresa ECOSISTEC S.A.S. existe un problema que está erosionando la rentabilidad y está comprometiendo la perdurabilidad de esta empresa, con el planteamiento de este proyecto aplicado se podrá resolver el problema de reputación que tiene a la empresa en un estado crítico y que ha limitado considerablemente su desempeño a través de los últimos años. A través de un análisis externo e interno, y de la aplicación de diferentes metodologías al interior de esta empresa se espera poder conocer la situación actual de la misma y del mercado colombiano, lo que a la final permitirá encontrar una solución óptima que mejore el estado actual de esta organización mejorando la cuota de mercado y la imagen que tienen los potenciales clientes de ECOSISTEC S.A.S.

Cultural selection and its influence on perceptions of reputation within organisations

The capacity to identify, interpret, and prioritise environmental issues is critical in the management of corporate reputation. In spite of the significance of these abilities for corporate reputation management, there has been little effort to document and describe internal organizational influences on these capacities. Contrary to this state of affairs in the discipline of public relations, a long history of ethnographic research in cultural anthropology documents how sets of shared environmental perceptions can influence and moderate environmental factors in cultural populations (see for example, Durham, 1991 ). This study explores how cultural “frames of reference” derived from shared values and assumptions among organizational members influence organizational perceptions, and consequently, organizational actions. Specifically, this study explores how a central attribute of organizational culture--the property of cultural selection-- influences perceptions of organizational reputation held by organizational members. Perceptions of reputation among organizational members are obvious drivers to both the nature of and rationale for organizational communication strategies and responses. These perceptions are the result of collective processes that synthesise (with varying degrees of consensus) member conceptualisations, interpretations, and representations of the environmental realities in which their organization operate. To explore how cultural selection influences member perceptions of organizational reputation, this study employs ethnographic research including 20 depth interviews and six months of organizational observation in the focal organization. We argue that while external indicators of organizational reputation are acknowledged by members as significant, the internal action of cultural selection is a far stronger influence on organizational action.

The economics of credence goods: An experimental investigation of the role of verifiability, liability, competition and reputation in credence goods markets

Credence goods markets are characterized by asymmetric information between sellers and consumers that may give rise to inefficiencies, such as under- and overtreatment or market break-down. We study in a large experiment with 936 participants the determinants for efficiency in credence goods markets. While theory predicts that either liability or verifiability yields efficiency, we find that liability has a crucial, but verifiability only a minor effect. Allowing sellers to build up reputation has little influence, as predicted. Seller competition drives down prices and yields maximal trade, but does not lead to higher efficiency as long as liability is violated.