Due to the continued development of Internet technology, more and more people are willing to take advantage of high-interaction and diverse web applications to deal with commercial, knowledge-sharing, and social activities. However, while web applications deeply affect our society by degrees, hackers start exploiting web application vulnerabilities to attack innocent end user and back-end database, and therefore pose significant threat in information security. According to this situation, this paper proposes a detection mechanism based on Model Checking to detect web application vulnerabilities. We reduce the problem whether the vulnerabilities exist or not to a kind of SMT (Satisfiability Modulo Theories) problem, and analyze all of the traces of tainted data flow in web applications to find possible vulnerabilities by SMT solver. The experimental results show that the method we proposed can identify SQL injection and XSS vulnerabilities effectively, and prove our method is a feasible way to find web application vulnerabilities.

Studying hurricane preparedness among the Resident Assistants (RAs) and Residence Life Coordinators (RLCs) at Louisiana State University (LSU) is imperative to assure that the university housing staff is fully equipped when faced with an oncoming threat. This study seeks to fill a gap in research by investigating the influences of preparedness on student housing employees. A survey was developed and the measures were found to be coherent and internally reliable through the use of factor analysis. Based on theory and previous literature, a linear regression model was developed that quantified the relationship between the independent variable of preparedness and general knowledge, past experience, preparation anxiety, threat anxiety, amount of time as a housing employee, amount of time living in Baton Rouge, location of primary address, gender, ethnicity, and car access. Only general knowledge and preparation anxiety were found to influence the preparedness construct significantly (at the 5 percent level). Demographic factors did not influence hurricane preparedness levels of housing staff employees. Results suggest that the university acts as a buffer to student populations from typical vulnerabilities that the regular population experiences in disaster scenarios. This research could be applicable to other university housing staff employees who work at a university that may be frequently impacted by hurricanes.

Security in automotive industry is a thought of concern these days. As more smart electronic devices are getting connected to each other, the dependency on these devices are urging us to connect them with moving objects such as cars, buses, trucks etc. As such, safety and security issues related to automotive objects are becoming more relevant in the realm of internet connected devices and objects. In this thesis, we emphasize on certain factors that introduces security vulnerabilities in the implementation phase of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Input invalidation is one of them that we address in our work. We implement a security evaluation framework that allows us to improve security in automotive software by identifying and removing software security vulnerabilities that arise due to input invalidation reasons during SDLC. We propose to use this framework in the implementation and testing phase so that the critical deficiencies of software in security by design issues could be easily addressed and mitigated.

In 1946 the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that in order to promote overall health in a given population, it is necessary to identify factors that contribute to health and well-being, and not to solely focus on methods to reduce vulnerability to distress. Over 50 years later the WHO (2006) identified the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) community as a specific sub-population that requires particular investment in finding ways to reduce their observed higher rates of distress and suicidality. During this same half-century, U.S. colleges and universities transitioned from being fundamentally mono-cultural student bodies to becoming more multicultural in nature. In essence, each college’s student body is now a population of populations. One prominent population among the larger student body is the LGBTQ college student community. Furthermore, the LGB portion of this college sub-population has been identified as an under-researched subset of the larger LGBTQ population (Russell et al., 2011). This is because past research has been limited by drawing primarily upon non-college adolescent LGBTQ samples and has over generalized its findings by the inclusion of the Transgender and Questioning populations, which have been observed to report even higher rates of distress and suicidality than the LGB community (Clements-Nolle et al. 2006; Goldblum et al. 2012). This study is designed to refine our understanding of the LGB college sub-population by first examining if trends of increased acquired vulnerability for distress and suicidality found in studies of the adolescent LGBTQ population (Garofalo, Wolf, Kessel, Palfrey, & DuRant, 1998; Russell & Toomey, 2010; Haas et al., 2011; King et al., 2008) also exist in the LGB college sub-population. Second, in line with the World Health Organization’s goal of identifying protective qualities capable of enhancing and preserving one’s state of well-being and resilience, this study will be the first to examine if Sense of Coherence (SOC) serves as a moderating factor on LGB college students’ vulnerability to distress and suicidality, and thereby, contributes to overall well-being and health. Through this study, we hope to achieve a better understanding of LGB students’ vulnerability to distress and suicidality during the college years, as well as to examine the applicability of the SOC construct for health promoting interventions in the college population. / text

In the context of still uncertain specific effects of climate change in specific locations, this paper examines whether education significantly increases coping capacity with regard to particular climatic changes, and whether it improves the resilience of people to climate risks in general. Our hypothesis is that investment in universal primary and secondary education around the world is the most effective strategy for preparing to cope with the still uncertain dangers associated with future climate. The empirical evidence presented for a cross-country time series of factors associated with past natural disaster fatalities since 1980 in 125 countries confirms this overriding importance of education in reducing impacts. We also present new projections of populations by age, sex, and level of educational attainment to 2050, thus providing an appropriate tool for anticipating societies' future adaptive capacities based on alternative education scenarios associated with different policies. (authors' abstract)

Both Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) aim at reducing the vulnerabilities and enhancing the capacities of men and women when facing natural hazards and climate change. Despite conceptual bridges existing between both sectors, the literature suggests a lack of practical integration of objectives and approaches in the design and implementation of climate change-related and DRR initiatives as well as a lack of attention to gender issues. In parallel, studies repeatedly stress the necessity to (i) provide more empirical studies that re-contextualise climate change as just one of many issues faced on a daily basis by local communities, and (ii) emphasise the gender dimension of vulnerability to understand differences between men’s and women’s realities in relation to disasters and climate change. This research explores the local dimension of the (lack of) integration of DRR and CCA through using gender as a lens. It uses the case study of the Himalayan province of Ladakh in India where the predicted impacts of climate change could seriously undermine inhabitants’ access to water. Embedded within the theoretical frames of DRR and feminist political ecology, this research draws on concepts of gender, marginalisation, vulnerability and capacity in order to understand the local impacts of environmental degradation and the implications for policies and development projects. When analysing the ways in which Ladakhi communities experience climate change and natural hazards in relation to their everyday risks, the vulnerability and capacity assessment conducted in this research shows that men and women face different everyday constraints which shape their views of their environment. The gender sensitive methodology and analysis also contribute to focus the attention away from hazards to emphasise the way people’s vulnerabilities are inherently linked to unsustainable development which stresses the importance of designing integrated responses. Yet, when examining current interventions to tackle disaster risk and climate change in relation to Ladakhi communities’ contexts, priorities and needs, a focus on gender and DRR highlights the gap between theories, policies and practices. Evidence from Ladakh contributes to show the dichotomy between the ineffectiveness of top-down interventions targeting climate change and disasters, and the gendered experiences of local communities in the face of a multitude of everyday risks that extend beyond climate change and natural hazards. Current DRR and CCA policies and projects reproduce a dominant focus on hazards and do not challenge established development models that are male-dominated and which promote people’s (and disproportionately women’s) vulnerability. However, development interventions, in the context of Ladakh, appear more adequate to improve people’s livelihoods with greater scope for inputs from the community level, which contribute to enhancing their capacities. Therefore, this thesis argues that emphasis should be placed on sustainable development practices in order to better address disaster risk and climate change as well as communities’ everyday risks. It finally underscores the need to recognise and assess the interconnection of different structures and their impacts on people’s daily lives at the onset of development strategies and to ensure that these are part of a sustainable, holistic and integrated approach to reducing vulnerability.

Northern British Columbian Aboriginal mothers raising adolescents with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) face many challenges. This interpretive ethnography provides an understanding of how these mothers interpreted and responded to their adolescents' FASD. It affirms the experiences of Aboriginal mothers and acknowledges their life stories and those of their adolescent children.The concepts of vulnerability, marginalization, and mothering, conceptualized within the theoretical perspectives of postcolonialism, provided the framework for this study. Postcolonial perspectives were particularly relevant to this research: the explicit aftereffects of colonialism on the well-being of Aboriginal women have shaped the worldview of mainstream society resulting in marginalization and stigmatization. A postcolonial perspective suggests that FASD is a problem compounded by colonization; until the underlying compounding issues are addressed, the incidence of FASD among Aboriginal people will continue to increase.English-speaking Aboriginal women with one or more children between the ages of 14 and 18 years affected by FASD were recruited for the study. Appropriate measures were taken to ensure trustworthiness, verisimilitude, and legitimacy. Data collection included three sequential audio-recorded interviews with eight women over a specific time. Interview data were enhanced by document review, intervals of observation participation, and the examination of other historically and culturally relevant data.The interpretive theory derived from the data, Mothering from the Margins, explains how Aboriginal mothers raise their adolescent children who have FASD. The theory provides a perspective that enables nurses to view mothers with adolescents affected by FASD in an all-encompassing manner, and unifies the experiences of participants mothering adolescents with FASD. Aboriginal mothers of adolescents with FASD continue to experience societal blame and marginalization for consuming alcohol during pregnancy. This study extends the knowledge of how this blaming and marginalization experience plays out in the lives of both mothers and children. The findings debunk the stereotypical myth that Aboriginal mothers are not good mothers. In fact, the findings from this study demonstrate how, despite all the difficulties and challenges faced by study participants, they have demonstrated adaptability, confidence, and care in their mothering roles.

This research quantifies the seismic vulnerability of older reinforced concrete frame structures located in Mid-America. After designing a representative three-story gravity load designed reinforced concrete frame structure, a nonlinear analytical representation was used evaluate inter-story drift demands from simulated earthquake time histories that were representative for the region. Limit state story drift capacities were identified for FEMA 273 guidelines, nonlinear pushover analyses, and incremental dynamic analyses. Integrating these two quantities allowed for the creation of fragility curves which relates the probability of exceeding a particular limit state given an imposed spectral acceleration at the fundamental building period. These curves were then used to evaluate the seismic vulnerability of the representatively designed structure. The structure as originally designed was found to be inadequate to resist large lateral loading that would be typical for the Memphis area. So structural retrofit performed by increasing the column-to-beam strength ratio was evaluated by increasing the strength of the column members in the analytical model. The first retrofit raised the column-to-beam strength ratio to 1.2, which is currently required by the ACI code provisions. The second retrofit raised the column-to-beam strength ratio to 1.8, as suggested in previous studies. The story capacity, demand, and fragility curves were once again created for these retrofitted structures. Comparison of these fragility curves is discussed in relation to the retrofit strategy of column strengthening for older reinforced concrete frame structures in Mid-America.

Dauguma mokslininkų ir ekspertų vienareikšmiškai pripažįsta ir sutaria, jog teroristinis branduolinių, biologinių ir cheminių ginklų panaudojimas kelia grėsmę tarptautiniam saugumui. Įvykęs branduolinis ar plataus masto biologinis ar cheminis išpuolis sukeltų ne tik milžinišką humanitarinę tragediją, bet ir, tikėtina, pastūmėtų pasaulį ant masinio naikinimo ginklų katastrofų slenksčio. Todėl būtina ištirti, kas slypi po šiais kartais apokaliptiniais įspėjimais ir kokia, iš tiesų, tikimybė, jog teroristai gali panaudoti masinius naikinimo ginklus. Magistro darbo objektas- hipotetinės ir realios rizikos bei pažeidumai, kylantys iš branduolinio, cheminio ir biologinio terorizmo grėsmių. Darbo tikslas- išanalizuoti bei įvertinti hipotetines ir realias rizikas bei pažeidumus, kylančius iš branduolinio, cheminio ir biologinio terorizmo grėsmių. Pagrindiniai darbo uždaviniai: apžvelgti masinio naikinimo ginklų terorizmą teorinėje racionalaus pasirinkimo perspektyvoje, giliau paanalizuojant sprendimų analizės metodą; ištirti ir įvertinti priežastis, sulaikančias teroristus nuo branduolinių, cheminių ir biologinių išpuolių įgyvendinimo; išanalizuoti priežastis, galinčias paskatinti branduolinių, biologinių ir cheminių teroristinių išpuolių įgyvendinimą; išnagrinėti ir praktiškai pritaikyti sprendimų analizės veiksnių įtakos schemas branduoliniam, biologiniam ir cheminiam terorizmui. Analizės pagrindas- analitinis aprašomasis ir dokumentų analizės metodai. ... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Unambiguously, the majority of researchers and experts recognize and agree that a terrorist nuclear, biological and chemical weapons use poses a threat to international security. Following a nuclear or large- scale biological or chemical attack would not only trigger enormous humanitarian tragedy, but is likely to push the world on weapons of mass destruction catastrophe. It is therefore necessary to explore what lies beneath these sometimes apocalyptic warnings, and what, indeed, the likelihood that terrorists could use weapons of mass destruction. The object of master thesis- hypothetical and actual risks and vulnerabilities arising from the threats of nuclear, chemical and biological terrorism. The aim of this work is to analyze and assess hypothetical and actual risks and vulnerabilities arising from the threats of nuclear, chemical and biological terrorism. The main tasks of the work: to survey the terrorism of weapons of mass destruction in theoretical perspective of rational choice, a deeper analyzing decision analysis method; to investigate and evaluate the causes which deter terrorists from nuclear, chemical and biological attacks in the implementation; to analyze the reasons that may lead to the nuclear, biological and chemical terrorist attacks in the implementation; to examine and use in practical the influence diagrams of decision making analysis to nuclear, biological or chemical terrorism. The analysis is based on the analytical descriptive... [to full text]

Aggregate mining in Ontario is a highly contentious landuse activity between many stakeholder groups. Land use activities, within a watershed, including anthropogenic infrastructure and anthropogenic changes to the natural infrastructure (such as aggregate pits and quarries), may increase susceptibility of an aquifer by modifying contaminant migration pathways, which is an issue of water security. The purpose of this research is to apply the Vulnerability Scoring Tool to test its utility in the field of water security. The methodology is applied to an aggregate extraction site in the Grand River Watershed in Ontario, and presents an example of how changing land use may change exposure pathways. In particular, the case study results indicate an increase in vulnerability once the aquitard had been penetrated, through aggregate excavation. Applying vulnerability and risk models to future aggregate mining sites can be a useful decision-making tool when investigating impacts of aggregate extraction sites on water security. / Canadian Water Network