Search Results (142)

Despite the focus on improving cybersecurity awareness, the number of cyberattacks has increased significantly, leading to huge financial losses, with their risks spreading throughout the world. This is due to the techniques deployed in cyberattacks that mainly aim at exploiting humans, the weakest link in any defence system. The existing literature on human factors in phishing attacks is limited and does not live up to the witnessed advances in phishing attacks, which have become exponentially more dangerous with the introduction of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). This paper studies the implications of AI advancement, specifically the exploitation of GenAI and human factors in phishing attacks. We conduct a systematic literature review to study different human factors exploited in phishing attacks, potential solutions and preventive measures, and the complexity introduced by GenAI-driven phishing attacks. This paper aims to address the gap in the research by providing a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of phishing attacks with the application of GenAI and associated human implications, thereby contributing to the field of knowledge to defend against phishing attacks by creating secure digital interactions. Full article

In recent years, droughts and extreme weather events have witnessed increasing frequency around the globe, leading to a growing number of issues related to soil cracking that severely impact the stability of engineering projects and ecological environments. This study mainly investigates the cracking of clay in arid areas of Xinjiang. An experiment is conducted in a climate simulation laboratory, in which we explored the evolution of soil drying cracks under different (straight/curved) boundary constraints. The crack development process is quantitatively described through the use of digital imaging technology and by combining parameters such as crack rate, fractal dimension, and water-holding performance at different boundaries. The following conclusions were drawn: Under curved boundary conditions, cracks expand in a curve-like manner, and the cracks in the boundary area are densely distributed. However, under straight boundary conditions, penetrating straight cracks are formed, and the soil blocks present as regular polygons. Boundary conditions significantly impact the residual water content. Under straight boundary conditions, the residual masses of strongly and weakly bound water are significantly higher than those under curved boundary conditions. The complexity of the crack network under the curved boundary condition is higher, and its fractal dimension is significantly greater than that under the straight boundary condition. A quantitative analysis based on the use of digital image processing technology indicates that the boundary geometry has a significant controlling effect on the crack propagation path. This research provides guidance on the prevention and control of soil engineering cracking and damage in arid regions. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aims to investigate the correlation between facial soft tissues, teeth, and skeletal growth patterns in order to provide an accurate diagnosis and orthodontic treatment plan using digital examination of lateral cephalograms. Achieving the best orthodontic outcome begins with an accurate, timely, and thorough diagnosis before starting the treatment phase. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated the correlation between facial soft tissues, dental hard tissues, and skeletal growth patterns in 100 Romanian orthodontic patients (52 females, 48 males; median age 26 years) using digital lateral cephalograms. The measurements included skeletal parameters (ANB angle, FMA, Wits appraisal), dental parameters (inclinations of upper and lower incisors, interincisal angle), and soft tissue parameters (nasolabial angle, upper and lower lip positions relative to E-plane), all assessed using the AI-powered WEBCEPH software. Statistical analysis was conducted using RStudio (version 4.3.1). Results: A total of 100 subjects (52% female; median age, 26 years [range, 19–32 years]) were evaluated. No significant gender-based differences were found across cephalometric, soft tissue, or dental parameters. When stratified by ANB classification (Class I, 41%; Class II, 48%; Class III, 11%), significant differences emerged in the interincisal angle (p = 0.047), L1-to-LOP measurement (p < 0.001), lip-to-E-plane distances (p ≤ 0.009), Wits appraisal (p < 0.001), and the ANB angle itself (p < 0.001). Furthermore, stratification by FMA classification revealed expected differences in FMA values (p < 0.001) and a significant variation in the distribution of ANB classes (p = 0.042). All other cephalometric and soft tissue parameters remained comparable across FMA categories. Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of integrating hard and soft tissue analyses in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning to achieve optimal aesthetic and functional outcomes. Full article

As a globe leader in tourism, Spain relies on this sector as a key economic pillar, contributing over 12% to its GDP. The hospitality industry has expanded steadily in response to growing demand. In parallel, recent years have witnessed an exponential rise in tourist accommodations, such as privately owned properties repurposed for short-term rentals, largely facilitated by digital platforms. This study explores the evolution and spatial distribution of these accommodations, assessing their share within the overall housing stock across different scales. The focus is on Andalusian municipalities, a region characterized by both its geographical diversity and its significant tourism footprint. This study highlights two primary areas of concentration: the region’s Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines (most notably the Costa del Sol, centered in Malaga) and internationally renowned heritage cities such as Seville, Granada, and Cordoba. By applying quantitative methods, this research assesses the clustering of tourist accommodations in relation to major cultural landmarks, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The findings provide an analysis of the implications of this trend, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities it presents within the tourism sector, particularly against the backdrop of mounting criticism surrounding the sustainability and socio-economic impacts of this evolving model of tourism. Full article

This study investigates the potential of Far From Home, a non-digital board game, as an innovative tool for fostering empathy among university staff towards international students. International students face multifaceted challenges—linguistic barriers, cultural dissonance, and systemic inequities—yet traditional staff training often fails to cultivate the perspective-taking required for meaningful support. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analysed data from 82 participants across 10 game sessions, including surveys (n = 27), recorded gameplay observations, and semi-structured interviews (n = 6). Thematic analysis explored how role-playing as student avatars and collaborative problem-solving influenced staff empathy. The results demonstrated the game’s effectiveness in bridging cultural gaps, with participants reporting a heightened awareness of structural barriers and reduced stereotyping. Notably, the emergent findings suggested a “contrast commitment” effect, where witnessing biassed behaviours reinforced staff’s dedication to equitable practices. This study advocates for game-based training as a complement to existing programmes, with future research needed to assess longitudinal impacts. Potential applications include adapting the framework for other marginalised student groups and institutional contexts. Full article

Bullying, especially in the context of digitalization, is a global issue that can significantly impact students’ educational and personal development. Our research analyzed the complex and multi-faceted phenomenon of bullying, its prevalence, and its effect on students in middle schools in Craiova, Romania. A quantitative approach was applied using the adopted Save the Children Romania and Olweus questionnaires to a sample of 673 middle school students. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 23, employing ANOVA tests, Pearson correlations, and Chi-square tests, as well as descriptive statistics. Contrary to previous research, our findings indicate that gender (r = 0.041) and academic performance did not significantly predict bullying victimization or aggression (p = 0.079). However, we found that the academic performance of students who witnessed bullying incidents was significantly affected. Interestingly, the descriptive statistics showed that boys reported higher rates of bullying involvement. Additionally, social support (−0.148) and the school environment emerged as important factors in bullying prevention. These unexpected results highlight the contextual and cultural specificity of bullying. We encourage further research to better understand this nuanced and complex phenomenon, focusing not only on victims but also on bystanders. Addressing bullying requires a comprehensive approach to promote a healthy learning environment for all students. Full article

The intense rising of machine learning in the previous years, bolstered by post-COVID-19 digitalization, left some of us pondering upon the transparency practices involving projects sourced from European Union funds. This study focuses on the European Union research clusters and trends in the ecosystem of higher education institutions (HEIs). The manually curated dataset of bibliometric data from 2020 to 2024 was analyzed in steps, from the traditional bibliometric indicators to natural language processing and collaboration networks. Centrality metrics, including degree, betweenness, closeness, and eigenvector centrality, and a three-way-intersection of community detection algorithms were computed to quantify the influence and the connectivity of institutions in different communities in the collaborative research networks. In the EU context, results indicate that institutions such as Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, the University of Cordoba, and Maastricht University frequently occupy central positions, echoing their role as local or regional hubs. At the global level, prominent North American and UK-based universities (e.g., University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Imperial College London) also remain influential, standing as a witness to their enduring influence in transcontinental research. Clustering outputs further confirmed that biomedical and engineering-oriented lines of inquiry often dominated these networks. While multiple mid-ranked institutions do appear at the periphery, the data highly implies that large-scale initiatives gravitate toward well-established players. Although the recognized centers provide specialized expertise and resources, smaller universities typically rely on a limited number of niche alliances. Full article

The aim of this patient dose review is to establish a thorough diagnostic reference level (DRL) system. This entails calculating a DRL value for each possible image technique/view considered to perform a diagnostic mammogram in our practice. Diagnostic mammographies from a total of 1191 patients who underwent a diagnostic mammogram study in our designated diagnostic mammography center were collected and retrospectively analyzed. The DRL representing our health sector was set as the median of the mean glandular dose (MGD) for each possible image technique/view, including the 2D standard bilateral craniocaudal (LCC/RCC) and mediolateral oblique (LMLO/RMLO), the 2D bilateral spot compression CC and MLO (RSCC/LSCC and RSMLO/LSMLO), the 2D bilateral spot compression with magnification (RMSCC/LMSCC and RMSMLO/LMSMLO), the 3D digital breast tomosynthesis CC and MLO (RCC/LCC and RMLO/LMLO), the 2D bilateral implant CC and MLO (RIMCC/LIMCC and RIMMLO/LIMMLO), the 2D bilateral contrast enhanced CC and MLO (RCECC/LCECC and RCEMLO/LCEMLO) and the 2D bilateral stereotactic biopsy guided CC (SBRCC/SBLCC). This patient dose review revealed that the highest MGD was associated with the 2D bilateral spot compression with magnification (MSCC/MSMLO) image view. For the compressed breast thickness (CBT) group 60–69 mm, the median and 75th percentile of the MGD values obtained were MSCC: 3.35 and 3.96, MSMLO: 4.14 and 5.25 mGy respectively. Obvious MGD variations were witnessed across the different possible views even for the same CBT group. Our results are in line with the published DRLs when using same statistical quantity and CBT group. Full article

The education sector has witnessed a significant shift towards digitising student records, with relevant data now stored in centralized data repositories. While traditional identity management solutions in education are functional, they often face various challenges, including data privacy concerns, limited portability, and reliability challenges. As the volume of student data continues to grow, inadequate data management practices have led to several problems. These include students losing control and empowerment over their educational information, increased vulnerability to potential data breaches and unauthorized access, a lack of transparency and accountability, data silos and inconsistencies, and administrative inefficiencies. To address these limitations, the implementation of a blockchain-assisted self-sovereign identity (Ba-SSI) concept in the education system presents a viable solution. Self-sovereign identity (SSI) represents a paradigm shift from traditional centralized identity systems, allowing individuals to maintain full control of their identity data without relying on centralized authorities. By leveraging the decentralized nature, SSI frameworks can ensure security, interoperability, and scalability, thereby improving user-centric identity management. This survey paper explores the potential of Ba-SSI within the context of education. It thoroughly reviews the current state of digital identity management in education, highlighting the limitations of conventional systems and the emerging role of blockchain technology in addressing these challenges. The paper discusses the fundamental principles of blockchain technology and how it can be utilized to enhance security, interoperability, and scalability in identity management. Additionally, it examines the insights and benefits of this approach for the education system. Finally, the paper concludes by addressing the issues, challenges, benefits, and future research directions in this domain, underscoring the potential of Ba-SSI solutions to revolutionize the management and empowerment of student data within the education sector. Full article

Digital supply chains (DSCs) are value-driven and collaborative digital systems designed to generate business value for firms through various innovative technologies. Today, we are witnessing companies transitioning from traditional supply chain models to DSCs through digital technologies. The effective selection of digital suppliers during these digital transformation processes is a strategic research topic. Additionally, factors such as the proliferation of information and communication technologies, globalization, and the pandemic have contributed to the expansion of e-commerce platforms. In this rapid growth phase, identifying the right supplier is crucial for the success of e-commerce sites. This study aims to develop an innovative, integrated, and comprehensive decision-making methodology to assist e-commerce platforms in selecting appropriate suppliers for their DSCs. To achieve this, an extended fuzzy VlseKriterijuska Optimizacija I Komoromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method is tested, where criteria and alternative evaluations made by decision-makers (DMs) are characterized by interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IVIFNs). The proposed decision mechanism is tested on the DSS problem of an e-commerce platform specializing in household products. Findings of the application, which uses three experts’ opinion to evaluate four digital suppliers based on the seven criteria, are discussed to help e-commerce sites conduct the DSS process more effectively. Full article

The region of Lorraine in France witnessed the collapse of the steel industries in the late twentieth century, causing massive job losses and social devastation. Daewoo Electronics, a division of one of the great Korean conglomerates of the 1980s and 1990s, came to Lorraine in eastern France in 1987. It was lured there by generous French government subsidies and the chance to enter the European market. It opened three factories in consumer electronics and components, and also nearly acquired Thomson Multimédia, a state-owned consumer electronics factory, from the French government “for a single symbolic franc”. The resulting uproar, from political opponents and Thomson and Daewoo employees, ended the deal and soured its relationship with France. Daewoo employed just over a thousand people before it closed in 2003, a result of the collapse of the entire Daewoo Group. This article places this sequence of events, widely covered in the media, in the context of French anxiety about globalization, the loss of industrial substance, and France’s place in a changing world. It examines the process of privatization, and the ways in which it went so badly wrong in the Thomson case. This episode occurred at a critical juncture in the transformation of industrial capitalism into a service and digital economy. Full article

Digital image source identification primarily focuses on analyzing and detecting the machine imprints or camera fingerprints left by imaging devices during the imaging process to trace the origin of digital images. The development of a swift search algorithm is crucial for the effective implementation of camera source identification. Despite its importance, this domain has witnessed limited research, with existing studies predominantly focusing on search efficiency while neglecting robustness, which is essential. In practical scenarios, query images often suffer from poor signal quality due to noise, and the variability in fingerprint quality across different sources presents a significant challenge. Conventional brute-force search algorithms (BFSAs) prove largely ineffective under these conditions because they lack the necessary robustness. This paper addresses the issues in digital image source identification by proposing a rapid fingerprint search algorithm based on global information. The algorithm innovatively introduces a search priority queue (SPQ), which analyzes the global correlation between the query fingerprint and all reference fingerprints in the database to construct a comprehensive priority ranking, thereby achieving the efficient retrieval of matching fingerprints. Compared to the traditional brute-force search algorithm (BFSA), our method significantly reduces computational complexity in large-scale databases, optimizing from $O\left(nN\right)$ to $O(nlogN)$, where n is the length of the fingerprint, and N is the number of fingerprints in the database. Additionally, the algorithm demonstrates strong robustness to noise, maintaining a high matching accuracy rate even when image quality is poor and noise interference is significant. Experimental results show that in a database containing fingerprints from 70 cameras, our algorithm is 50% faster in average search time than BFSA, and its matching accuracy rate exceeds 90% under various noise levels. This method not only improves the efficiency and accuracy of digital image source identification but also provides strong technical support for handling large-scale image data, with broad application prospects in fields such as copyright protection and forensic evidence. Full article

Due to the advent of digitalization, the retail business has seen major changes in recent decades, including e-commerce and multichannel retailing. Customers have witnessed the development of new and digitized channels, as well as solutions such as digital marketplaces, social media touchpoints, and augmented reality applications. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as most of the physical brick-and-mortar retailers were forced to close, more consumers turned to digital channels such as apps, websites, social media platforms, etc. Small retail businesses, which account for a sizable share of the retail industry, have also faced challenge of seamless retailing in the era of digitization. This concept of seamless retailing is called omnichannel retailing, and it aims to integrate all the retail channels and touchpoints. The goal for small retailers is to make the transformation to omnichannel. The purpose of this study is to investigate how small retail businesses are changing their business models in the age of omnichannel transformation. Through a qualitative study of small retailers, this research provides empirical insights on business model changes and adaptive skills. The findings show that small businesses can implement complex changes in their business models through adaptive behaviors. This study also identifies areas in their business models and adaptive capabilities that require additional consideration and improvement to support the ongoing omnichannel transformation. Full article

This review paper addresses the growing and increasingly sophisticated issue of cyber sexual crimes targeting children and adolescents. It explores specific examples of various sexual offenses, analyzes the limitations of current legal frameworks, and offers practical recommendations for prevention. As one of the world’s most advanced digital societies, South Korea has witnessed a significant rise in such crimes. These incidents are classified into clear criminal acts, tactics used to lure minors, and occurrences within virtual environments, all of which should be integral to educational programs for children and parents. This study also examines the UK’s Online Safety Act, recognized as a leading model in combating online sexual offenses, and highlights the deficiencies in South Korean law. Given that these crimes often extend into the offline world, exploit vulnerable groups with increasing subtlety, and are challenging for individuals to counteract alone, there is a critical need for specialized education for minors, metaverse training for parents, and the enhancement of both legal measures and international cooperation in this area. Full article

The application of image recognition techniques in the realm of cultural heritage represents a significant advancement in preservation and analysis. However, existing scholarship on this topic has largely concentrated on specific methodologies and narrow categories, leaving a notable gap in broader understanding. This study aims to address this deficiency through a thorough bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science (WoS) literature from 1995 to 2024, integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches to elucidate the macro-level evolution of the field. Our analysis reveals that the integration of artificial intelligence, particularly deep learning, has significantly enhanced digital documentation, artifact identification, and overall cultural heritage management. Looking forward, it is imperative that research endeavors expand the application of these techniques into multidisciplinary domains, including ecological monitoring and social policy. Additionally, this paper examines non-invasive identification methods for material classification and damage detection, highlighting the role of advanced modeling in optimizing the management of heritage sites. The emergence of keywords such as ‘ecosystem services’, ‘models’, and ‘energy’ in the recent literature underscores a shift toward sustainable practices in cultural heritage conservation. This trend reflects a growing recognition of the interconnectedness between heritage preservation and environmental sciences. The heightened awareness of environmental crises has, in turn, spurred the development of image recognition technologies tailored for cultural heritage applications. Prospective research in this field is anticipated to witness rapid advancements, particularly in real-time monitoring and community engagement, leading to the creation of more holistic tools for heritage conservation. Full article