Detection of insider threats relies on monitoring individuals and their interactions with organizational resources. Identification of anomalous insiders typically relies on supervised learning models that use labeled data. However, such labeled data is not easily obtainable. The labeled data that does exist is also limited by current insider threat detection methods and undetected insiders would not be included. These models also inherently assume that the insider threat is not rapidly evolving between model generation and use of the model in detection. Yet there is a large body of research that illustrates that the insider threat changes significantly after some types of precipitating events, such as layoffs, significant restructuring, and plant or facility closure. To capture this temporal evolution of user-system interactions, we use an unsupervised learning framework to evaluate whether potential insider threat events are triggered following precipitating events. The analysis leverages a bipartite graph of user and system interactions. The approach shows a clear correlation between precipitating events and the number of apparent anomalies. The results of our empirical analysis show a clear shift in behaviors after events which have previously been shown to increase insider activity, specifically precipitating events. We argue that this metadata about the level of insider threat behaviors validates the potential of the approach. We apply our method to a dataset that comprises interactions between engineers and software components in an enterprise version control system spanning more than 22 years. We use this unlabeled dataset and automatically detect statistically significant events. We show that there is statistically significant evidence that a subset of users diversify their committing behavior after precipitating events have been announced. Although these findings do not constitute detection of insider threat events per se, they do identify patterns of potentially malicious high-risk insider behavior. They reinforce the idea that insider operations can be motivated by the insiders' environment. Our proposed framework outperforms algorithms based on naive random approaches and algorithms using volume dependent statistics. This graph mining technique has potential for early detection of insider threat behavior in user-system interactions independent of the volume of interactions. The proposed method also enables organizations without a corpus of identified insider threats to train its own anomaly detection system.

AlN thin films were grown in a N2 atmosphere onto a Si/Si3N4 substrate by pulsed laser ablation. We have varied the substrate temperature for the thin film growth, using X-ray Reflectometry (XRR) analysis, we have characterized the thickness and density of the thin layer and the interface roughness from the X-ray reflectivity profiles. Experimental data showed that the root-mean-square roughness was in the range of 0.3 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to characterize the chemical composition of the films. These measurements detected carbon and oxygen contamination at the surface. In the high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Al2p data, binding energies for Al-N and Al-O species were identified but no Al-Al species were present. In the N1s data, N-O species were not detected, but chemically bonded O was present in the films as Al-O species. Furthermore the value of optical energy gap, Eg was about 5.3 (± 0.1) eV. The composition varied with process conditions, and the nitrogen content decreased in AlN films processed above 500°C.

Some authors argue that Value Engineering (VE) is just an audit exercise carried out over the work of planners and designers, and that the large success it has had in organizations like the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the USA is just a proof that engineers are doing things wrong from the outset (Winch, 2002). In many cases, VE studies are executed just in a reactive manner when project managers face budget overruns and schedule delays. However, VE has shown ever more effective when it is fully integrated into the organization’s project delivery framework. Nonetheless, deciding upon the best timing for executing VE studies still remains controversial. The timing is a critical factor for the effectiveness of VE studies and this article attempts to shed light on this issue

This is the final result of an investigation. This paper seeks to engage in a general exploration about some possible theoretical understandings about indigenous peoples’ rights, since there is the concern that their group rights have been systematically neglected by the nation-state and the international community. Concretely, there is the perception that the interests of the indigenous peoples have not been adequately addressed by the Colombian state due to a uni-dimensional framework for defining the meaning of being developed. In that sense, the main objective of this document consists of providing a conceptual interconnection between the right to development (R2D) and collective rights, group rights, minority rights and cultural rights of indigenous peoples. The justification of this paper is the necessity of exploring the ways through which the indigenous peoples can take advantage of their R2D, as it encompasses other rights, i.e., individual, collective, group, minority, and cultural rights. In other words, I seek to stress the potential of the R2D for justifying different views of being developed, since some core human rights instruments can be easily embedded in the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development (DRD).

Abstract: Mass transportation and citizen mobility is one of the most relevant topics in urban planning nowadays. A brief analysis shows the importance of bicycle promotion as a mean of transportation not only for the low implementation costs, but also because of the environmental gains for the city and its inhabitants. This analysis is focused on bicycle promotion policies in Bogotá, Colombia, and states some brief conclusions about the next steps. Resumen: El transporte masivo y la movilidad de la ciudadanía es uno de los ítems más importantes a tener en cuenta en cuanto a planeación urbana. Un corto análisis muestra la importancia de la promoción del uso de la bicicleta como medio de transporte, no sólo por los bajos costos de implementación, sino por los logros medioambientales que benefician a la ciudad y a sus habitantes. El presente análisis se enfoca en las políticas de promoción del uso de la bicicleta en Bogotá, Colombia, y plantea unas cortas conclusiones así como pasos a seguir.

The authors seek to investigate the articulation of human / environmental security agenda to justify military action under ‘Plan Colombia / Plan Andino’ (PC/PA), the USA anti drugs trafficking strategy for Amazonia. It is observed that PC/PA exacerbates existing inequities in the region and are ineffective at controlling ‘narco-trafficking’. The paper explores the relation between culture and human/environmental security. The discussion illustrates how cultural and aesthetics beliefs provide the background for agroecological practices adopted by indigenous Amazonian peoples. It is argued that political developments in the region have undermined the ability of this people to maintain their livelihood strategies. It is conclude that PC/PA, which effectively exclude indigenous peoples from the management of the rainforest environments where they have lived for centuries, is justified by the Colombian and USA governments on the ground that they improve security of the very people they displace.

This article attempts to analyze the discourse underlying the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the confronting voices of the four countries that voted against this instrument. Through a frame analysis, the conception of (human) rights, development, well-being, lands, and the very notion of nation-state will be presented with regard to the two opposing views. Frames change throughout time; they are dynamic. Thus, what appears to be not negotiable today can be debated in the future. The very fact that indigenous peoples are regarded as an important actor in the international fora is something which was not thought some decades ago. The recognition of different ways of being developed is gaining interest. This article explores the pros and cons of this political struggle. To determine which position is the most convincing would depend on the reader’s background, values, and interests.

There are several theories of cognition, each taking a different position on the nature of cognition, what a cognitive system should do, and how a cognitive system should be analyzed and synthesized. From these, it is possible to discern three broad classes: the cognitivist approach based on symbolic information processing representational systems; the emergent systems approach embracing connectionist systems, dynamical systems, and enactive systems, all based on a lesser or greater extent of principles of self-organization, and the hybrid approach which combine the best of the emergent systems and cognitivist systems. Our research focuses on implementing a hybrid architecture for cognitive agents supported by both cognitivist and emergent approaches. On the one hand, the cognitivist approach provides an explicit knowledge representation through the use of symbolic AI techniques. On the other hand, the emergent approach defines three evolutionary strategies as observed in nature: Epigenesis, Ontogenesis, and Phylogenesis, endowing the architecture with implicit knowledge learning, sub-symbolic representations, and emergent behavior guided by bio-inspired computational intelligence techniques.

Abstract: Bone remodeling is a continuous physiological process that requires constant generation of new osteoblasts from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Differentiation of MSCs to osteoblast requires a metabolic switch from glycolysis to increased mitochondrial respiration to ensure the sufficient energy supply to complete this process. As a consequence of this increased mitochondrial metabolism, the levels of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) rise. In the current study we analyzed the role of forkhead box O3 (FOXO3) in the control of ROS levels in human MSCs (hMSCs) during osteogenic differentiation. Treatment of hMSCs with H2O2 induced FOXO3 phosphorylation at Ser294 and nuclear translocation. This ROS-mediated activation of FOXO3 was dependent on mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (MAPK8/JNK) activity. Upon FOXO3 downregulation, osteoblastic differentiation was impaired and hMSCs lost their ability to control elevated ROS levels. Our results also demonstrate that in response to elevated ROS levels, FOXO3 induces autophagy in hMSCs. In line with this, impairment of autophagy by autophagy-related 7 (ATG7) knockdown resulted in a reduced capacity of hMSCs to regulate elevated ROS levels, together with a reduced osteoblast differentiation. Taken together our findings are consistent with a model where in hMSCs, FOXO3 is required to induce autophagy and thereby reduce elevated ROS levels resulting from the increased mitochondrial respiration during osteoblast differentiation. These new molecular insights provide an important contribution to our better understanding of bone physiology. Resumen: La remodelación ósea es un proceso fisiológico continuo que demanda la generación constante de nuevos osteoblastos a partir de células madre mesenquimales (CMMs). La diferenciación de las CMMs a osteoblastos requiere un cambio de glicólisis a respiración mitocondrial para así asegurar la obtención de suficiente energía. Como consecuencia, los niveles endógenos de especies reactivas del oxígeno (ERO) se elevan siendo perjudiciales para la integridad celular. En el presente estudio hemos analizado el papel de FOXO3 en el control de ERO en las CMMs durante la diferenciación osteogénica. El tratamiento de las CMMs con H2O2 induce la fosforilacion de FOXO3 en la serina 294 resultando en la translocación de FOXO3 al núcleo. Dicha activación mediada por el aumento de ERO es dependiente de la actividad de JNK. Al disminuir los niveles de FOXO3, la diferenciación osteoblástica se deteriora y las CMMs pierden su capacidad para controlar los niveles de ERO. Adicionalmente, nuestros resultados demuestran que en presencia de ERO, FOXO3 induce la autofagia en CMMs. En este orden de ideas, la disminución en los niveles de ATG7 da lugar a una reducción de la capacidad de las CMMs para regular los niveles elevados de ERO, junto con una reducción de la diferenciación de osteoblastos. Tomados en conjunto, nuestros resultados son consistentes con un modelo en el que FOXO3 es necesario para inducir la autofagia y por lo tanto reducir los niveles elevados de ERO que resultan del aumento de la respiración mitocondrial durante la diferenciación de osteoblastos. Estos nuevos conocimientos moleculares son importantes para una mejor comprensión de la fisiología ósea.

Abstract: Its high-risked operations, risk-taking mentality and multiple obstacles, namely technical capabilities, geological uncertainty, political risks, financial strengths, and complex regulations, globally define the Oil and Gas industry. The industry constantly uses Joint Operating Agreements to allocate the aforementioned risks between the parties, thus spreading costs and risks as well as benefits. The principle of sharing costs and risks is the cornerstone of these agreements and therefore all petroleum operations conduct jointly, but as every general rule, there is an exception for it. When pass mark is not reached within the Operating Committee a particular project may be undertaken at sole risk, taking into account that all consequences derived from sole risk operations are to be borne by the sole riskers, including environmental consequences. Having said that, this paper addresses the fundamentals, benefits and pitfalls of the sole risk operations in the United Kingdom, but it specially measures in practice if the sole riskers are financially capable to respond timely and sufficiently to any consequence. To achieve the foregoing, the next chapters will develop the fundamentals of sole risk operations, main features of the United Kingdom JOA model and the conclusions, anticipating to the readers that it might be risky to allow any member to a JOA to conduct sole risk activities. Resumen: Las operaciones de alto riesgo, su mentalidad de asumir riesgos y múltiples obstáculos, a saber, capacidades técnicas, incertidumbre geológica, riesgos políticos, fortalezas financieras y regulaciones complejas, definen globalmente la industria del petróleo y el gas. La industria utiliza constantemente Acuerdos de Operación Conjunta para asignar los riesgos antes mencionados entre las partes, extendiendo así los costos y los riesgos, así como los beneficios. El principio de compartir costos y riesgos es la piedra angular de estos acuerdos y, por lo tanto, todas las operaciones petroleras se llevan a cabo conjuntamente, pero como toda regla general, existe una excepción. Cuando no se alcanza la marca de aprobación dentro del Comité Operativo, un proyecto particular puede emprenderse a riesgo exclusivo, teniendo en cuenta que todas las consecuencias derivadas de las operaciones de riesgo exclusivo deben ser asumidas por los tomadores del riesgo, incluidas las consecuencias ambientales. Dicho esto, este documento aborda los fundamentos, beneficios y dificultades de las operaciones de riesgo exclusivo en el Reino Unido, pero especialmente mide en la práctica si los risk-takers son financieramente capaces de responder oportuna y suficientemente a cualquier consecuencia. Para lograr lo anterior, los próximos capítulos desarrollarán los fundamentos de las operaciones de riesgo exclusivo, las principales características del modelo JOA del Reino Unido y las conclusiones, anticipándose a los lectores que podría ser arriesgado permitir que cualquier miembro de un JOA lleve a cabo actividades de riesgo exclusivo.