Security in the wild: user strategies for managing security as an everyday,practical problem

Ubiquitous and mobile technologies create new challenges for system security. Effective security solutions depend not only on the mathematical and technical properties of those solutions, but also on people’s ability to understand them and use them as part of their work. As a step towards solving this problem, we have been examining how people experience security as a facet of their daily life, and how they routinely answer the question, “is this system secure enough for what I want to do?” We present a number of findings concerning the scope of security, attitudes towards security, and the social and organizational contexts within which security concerns arise, and point towards emerging technical solutions.     

Semiautomated depositor for infrared microspectrometry

The measurement of minute samples is desirable in many areas of research and analysis, including biological, environmental, and forensic sciences. The use of manual solution direct deposition, combined with surface evaporation, is a very useful and convenient method for the transfer of many analytes to a spectroscopic sampling window. For Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometric analysis, high quality attenuated total reflection (ATR) and transmission analyses are possible with suitable solution deposits. If the sample area is very small, placement of the analyte deposit on the active area of the sampling accessory must be done carefully. To achieve this, a novel direct deposition system has been developed. This system, a series of valves attached to a glass nebulizer, generates deposits that are reproducible, and placement of the deposits is precise. The valves allow the sample to be loaded, helium airflow to expel the sample, and the nebulizer to be cleaned after deposition. To help contain the sample to a small area once deposition has taken place, a vacuum line is attached to the nebulizer. This simple semiautomated deposition system allows for higher sensitivity and run-to-run reproducibility for minute sample analysis.     

Local anesthetic treatment significantly attenuates acute pain responding but does not prevent the neonatal injury-induced reduction in adult spinal behavioral plasticity.

Recent findings indicate that neonatal injury results in decreased spinal plasticity in adult subjects (E. E. Young, K. M. Baumbauer, A. E. Elliot, & R. L. Joynes, 2007). Previous research has shown that acute manipulations of pain processing (i.e., administration of formalin, carrageenan, capsaicin) result in a loss of spinal behavioral plasticity (A. R. Ferguson, E. D. Crown, & J. W. Grau, 2006). Moreover, neonatal injury results in a lasting reduction in adult spinally mediated plasticity resembling the deficit seen following acute manipulations in adults (E. E. Young et al., 2007). The present study was designed to determine whether the effects of neonatal injury could be prevented by lidocaine administration during the initial healing period. Subjects (injured or uninjured) received lidocaine or saline on 1 of 4 administration schedules (preinjury only, postinjury only, for 24 hr postsurgery, or for 72 hr postsurgery). Results demonstrated that lidocaine administration did not prevent the hypersensitivity and reduced spinal plasticity associated with neonatal injury. This suggests that (a) the mechanisms underlying neonatal injury are independent of peripheral input in the initial healing period and (b) lidocaine is ineffective at preventing long-term spinal plasticity changes following neonatal injury. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fluoxetine, smoking, and history of major depression: A randomized controlled trial.

The study was a randomized placebo-controlled trial testing whether fluoxetine selectively enhances cessation for smokers with a history of depression. Euthymic smokers with (H+, n = 109) or without (H-, n = 138) a history of major depression received 60 mg fluoxetine or placebo plus group behavioral quit-smoking treatment for 12 weeks. Fluoxetine initially enhanced cessation for H+ smokers (p = .02) but subsequently impaired cessation regardless of depressive history. Six months after quit date, fluoxetine-treated participants were 3.3 times more likely to be smoking (p = .02). Further research is warranted to determine why high-dose fluoxetine produces continuing effects that oppose tobacco abstinence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treating another's actions as one's own: Children's memory of and learning from joint activity.

Children often overestimate their contribution to collaborative activities. Across 2 studies, the authors investigated whether this memory bias supports internalization of the actions of others in the context of joint exchanges. After taking turns with (high collaborative condition; Studies 1 and 2) or working independently of (low collaborative condition; Study 2) an adult experimenter to create a series of novel toys, children's agent memory and reconstruction ability were assessed. Children in the high collaborative condition but not the low collaborative condition systematically overclaimed the actions of their social partner, more frequently reporting having completed steps performed by the experimenter than vice versa. This "I did it" bias was related to learning performance: high collaborative children outperformed low collaborative children both during an immediate reconstruction task and 4 months later, and the strength of the bias predicted children's independent toy-building accuracy. It is argued that the "I did it" bias may emerge as part of a general process of learning from others and is supported by a common framework for representing self-actions and other actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Practical and ethical assessment issues in rural, impoverished, and managed care settings.

The rising costs of new psychological tests, increased frequency of test revisions, and difficulty receiving authorization and reimbursement from managed care companies make it increasingly difficult for practitioners to provide the best standard of care to clients when conducting psychological and neuropsychological assessments. Practitioners, especially those in low-income and rural areas, may struggle with handling these practical realities while maintaining ethical standards in conducting psychological assessment. Suggestions for how to manage practical challenges faced by practitioners who provide psychological assessments, such as selecting tests when authorization or reimbursement by a third-party payer is restricted or denied, purchasing psychological tests on a budget, and providing assessments with a limited number of qualified staff are discussed. The authors also provide recommendations for the future prevention of these challenges through work with test developers, test publishing corporations, third-party payers, political action groups, and the psychology profession itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optical Frequency Metrology of an Iodine-Stabilized He-Ne Laser Using the Frequency Comb of a Quantum-Interference-Stabilized Mode-Locked Laser

We perform optical frequency metrology of an iodine-stabilized He-Ne laser using a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser frequency comb that is stabilized using quantum interference of photocurrents in a semiconductor. Using this technique, we demonstrate carrier-envelope offset frequency fluctuations of less than 5 mHz using a 1 s gate time. With the resulting stable frequency comb, we measure the optical frequency of the iodine transition [¹²⁷I₂ R(127) 11-5 i component] to be 473 612 214 712.96 ± 0.66 kHz, well within the uncertainty of the CIPM recommended value. The stability of the quantum interference technique is high enough such that it does not limit the measurements.     

Fuel use and design analysis of improved woodburning cookstoves in the Guatemalan Highlands

This study examined the fuel use and design of an improved woodburning cookstove (plancha), in comparison to traditional cooking over an open woodfire. These cookstoves had been randomly introduced into population households in the Guatemalan Highlands that had previously used open woodfires. This research consisted of: (1) a 12-household Kitchen Performance Test (KPT) over a 4-day period and (2) single-day participant observation in five households. The KPT monitored fuel consumption and the number, age, and gender of people who were cooked for, while the participant observation was used to form a complete understanding of fuel use patterns and to examine the influence of stove condition and cooking behavior. In spite of fairly low variability in the fuel use data (coefficients of variation of about 0.34) the KPT did not show statistically significant differences in fuel use between the two cooking methods. It is possible that increased study power through a larger sample size may have resulted in a statistically significant difference in favor of the plancha, but it is doubtful that the size of the effect would be of any practical significance. Thus, although other studies have shown that the plancha is extremely effective in reducing indoor air pollution in the study area, the KPT did not indicate that it offered any benefits with respect to fuel use. Practical and experimental recommendations for future cookstove efficiency studies are presented, with directions for continued work in this area.