Search Results (532)

This study develops a new concept of computer-assisted exercises (CAX) on constructive simulation systems and how the proposed concept affects the strategy and teaching methods. The current state of affairs in the field of defense and security, both in Europe and in the world, requires the acquisition of competencies (European Qualifications Framework—EQF: knowledge, skills, independence, and responsibility), i.e., the education and training of a significantly larger number of personnel in the field of defense and security than has been the case in the last 70 years. In addition, an important specificity of today is that students need to acquire some competencies that were almost unknown until recently. Most of these competencies are the result of the rapid development of technology, which has significantly changed human life in all areas. In order to respond to the modern requirements of conducting operations, where the transfer of information both horizontally and vertically is exponentially accelerated, current concepts of preparation and implementation of education and training, of which exercises are often the most important part, need to be replaced with new concepts, and one such concept is developed in this paper. New information introduced is mostly related to the new weapons that are being introduced (unmanned systems, hypersonic missiles, weapons based on microwaves and lasers, etc.), which all result in necessary changes to the traditional approach to conducting war, i.e., tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP). This novel exercise concept allows for the simultaneous implementation of training for up to three or four hierarchical levels (e.g., TF Div, brigade, battalion, and company) in one exercise, while in most countries, including the NATO alliance, it is still common for such exercises to be conducted according to a concept that is over 20 years old and, as a rule, is focused on the implementation of exercises for one or two hierarchical levels. This approach allows key personnel from the headquarters of units from four hierarchical levels to be simulated in real time, which is not provided by current concepts for preparing and conducting exercises. The new concept was applied as a multi-level, computer-assisted exercise (CAX) on constructive simulation systems. In addition, significant advantages of the new concept relate to the flexibility and adaptability of the proposed concept to be applied in addition to operational units and in training institutions such as academies and higher education institutions. In addition to the above, the new concept requires a shorter planning period as well as fewer total resources needed for the preparation and implementation of the exercise. The management, organizational, and technological components of the proposed exercise concept are implemented in the CAX model. The hypotheses in this paper will be tested in an applied study, which was evaluated through an external evaluation body. The implemented CAX model was tested in Croatia on the example of using exercises at the Croatian Defense Academy. Full article

Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme mood fluctuations that may create emotionally inconsistent caregiving environments for children. Although children of caregivers with bipolar disorder are at elevated risk for psychosocial difficulties, less is known about how parental bipolar symptoms (PBSs) relate specifically to identity development. The present study investigated associations between perceived PBSs and identity outcomes among emerging adults, examining parental attachment as a potential mediator. College students (N = 399) completed an anonymous online survey assessing identity development, attachment to parents, and perception of PBSs. PBSs were positively associated with identity distress, disturbed identity, and lack of identity, and negatively associated with identity consolidation. Mediation analyses indicated that parental attachment partially or fully mediated the relationships between PBSs and each identity variable, suggesting that higher levels of PBSs were associated with less secure attachment, which in turn were linked to greater identity difficulties. These findings highlight the role of parental mental health and attachment in shaping identity development and underscore the importance of accessible mental health care for youth navigating identity formation in the context of caregiver psychopathology. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed. Full article

Transforming a conventional university campus into a smart campus by leveraging modern technologies aims to deliver university services efficiently, effectively, and at low cost. Modern technologies enhance campus life by providing services, such as smart classrooms and campus security, on demand. Seamless service delivery requires reliable and efficient access to the services that take into consideration the dynamic contextual attributes related to, e.g., end-device mobility, latency sensitivity, and resource constraints. University staff, students, and visitors frequently submit different types of service requests on the move, which requires a robust orchestration framework capable of managing these requests across edge-cloud environments. The orchestration framework needs to intelligently distribute the workload, taking into consideration the latency sensitivity requirements and contextual conditions, including resource constraints. Therefore, a fuzzy-logic orchestration framework for smart-campus environments in edge-cloud architecture is proposed. The framework incorporates key factors, including user speed, resource utilization, and request delay sensitivity, in the decision-making process to satisfy both service consumers and service providers. It prioritizes latency-sensitive requests while simultaneously enhancing resource utilization efficiency. Simulation-based experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework compared with benchmark approaches in orchestrating incoming workloads under several user and contextual conditions. Additionally, the results show that the proposed framework improves the execution rate by 30% compared to benchmark models and achieves more than double resource utilization efficiency. Full article

The development, evolution, and operation of a cyber–physical system are cross-domain, holistic processes. The process encompasses all elements of a cyber–physical system, including computation infrastructure, software, interfaces to the physical world, human interactions, and safety and security engineering. The process is holistic because it must assure conceptual integrity and correct interoperability across all elements of the CPS. Unfortunately, at every stage of this process, vulnerabilities can be introduced into the system (due to negligence, mistakes, lack of skills, malicious activities, etc.). These dormant vulnerabilities can cause failures of the runtime system, possibly resulting in damage, loss of property or life, safety accidents, or security incidents. A promising approach to mitigate such risks is runtime anomaly detection using artificial intelligence/machine learning. This tutorial paper introduces the fundamental concepts of AI/ML anomaly detection and describes the corresponding intervention mechanisms. Automated intervention mechanisms are the last line of defense against failures, faults, malfunctions, and malicious activities—and their unfortunate consequences. The paper remains at the conceptual level and defers implementation details to subsequent publications. The content addresses advanced students (at the master’s level) and researchers entering this fascinating field. Full article

The early and widespread access of children to digital technologies has increased the need to develop digital competence from a young age, particularly regarding online safety and digital well-being. While schools play an important role in digital education, the family environment constitutes a key context in which children’s digital practices are shaped. This study analyses children’s digital competence around safety by analyzing parental mediation strategies, family context and patterns of Internet use as perceived by primary education students. Using data from 277 children aged 8–13 and items adapted from the EU Kids Online questionnaire, inferential and correlational analyses were conducted. These analyses focused on Internet use time, active parental mediation, communicative proactivity and parental supervision. The results show that active parental mediation and communication are negatively associated with time spent online. They are positively associated with indicators of responsible and secure Internet use. These findings are discussed within the framework of DigComp 3.0, highlighting the role of the home as a fundamental space for the construction of children’s digital safety competence. The study concludes that children’s digital safety competence is not acquired spontaneously or exclusively through formal education but is directly linked to everyday educational practices developed within the family context. Full article

In today’s world, electronics and networked systems, such as IoT devices, embedded platforms and smart environments, are increasingly popular and widespread. As a result, these systems become more exposed to cyber threats. The malicious URL is also one of the most widespread yet perilous vectors of cyberattack, as it is widely used in phishing, malware distribution, and command-and-control communication. The security of these electronic systems necessitates real-time, lightweight and intelligent detection techniques that must be efficient in resource-constrained environments. In order to meet this requirement, we propose SwiftURL, a lightweight deep learning model to detect malicious URLs that can be specifically deployed in modern electronic environments. SwiftURL leverages knowledge distillation from a transformer-based ELECTRA-Small teacher model, transferring detection capability into a smaller and faster student model while maintaining high performance. Experimental results on a public Kaggle dataset of malicious URLs demonstrate that SwiftURL achieves an accuracy of 94.38%, reduces computational overhead by 35%, and accelerates training time by 15%. These findings highlight SwiftURL’s effectiveness as a practical solution for enhancing cybersecurity in electronic and networked systems through efficient, on-device URL threat detection. Full article

The sustainable development of university safety governance is an important component of the national security management system and also serves as a fundamental safeguard for protecting the life and health of students and staff on campus. The improvement of university safety risk governance relies on analyzing the identification of various safety risks and maintaining an effective crisis management process for potential sudden safety risks. The 24Model and the 4R model have respectively demonstrated strong analytical advantages in the fields of accident causation analysis and emergency crisis management; however, few studies have examined the internal relationship between them. This study attempts to integrate the 24Model and the 4R crisis management framework to propose and analyze a 2-4-4R model for university safety risk management. Through a case study, the model is applied to analyze a laboratory explosion accident at a university. The results show that the risk factors leading to campus safety accidents can be analyzed from four aspects: safety culture, safety management system, individual factors, and unsafe acts and physical conditions. University safety management should comprehensively identify these four types of factors and propose governance measures sequentially from the four stages of reduction, readiness, response, and recovery in order to improve safety management capacity. The case analysis confirms that the 2-4-4R model has applicability and practical value in the identification and governance analysis of university safety risks. It provides a systematic research perspective for the identification and management of safety risks in universities, and is of great significance for promoting the sustainable development of universities. Full article

Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) are the backbone of modern critical infrastructure, such as electric power, water treatment, oil and gas distribution, and manufacturing operations. While the convergence of IT and OT has greatly increased efficiency and observability, it has also greatly expanded the attack surface of these once-isolated systems. High-profile cyber-physical attacks, including Stuxnet (2010), TRITON (2017), and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack (2021), have shown that ICS-targeted cyberattacks can cause physical damage, disrupt economic stability, and put public safety at risk. Despite the growing prevalence and intensity of such threats, ICS-based cybersecurity education remains largely under-resourced and underfunded. Traditional ICS training laboratories require highly specialized hardware, vendor-specific tools, and expensive licensing that significantly raise barriers to entry. Traditional labs typically require on-site participation and pose physical safety concerns when cyber-physical attack scenarios are performed. These barriers leave students unable to get necessary security training for ICSs. Therefore, this paper introduces ${\mathrm{AE}}^3$GIS: Agile Emulated Educational Environment for Guided Industrial Security—a fully virtual, lightweight, open-source platform designed to democratize ICS cybersecurity education. Based on the GNS3 network simulation tool, ${\mathrm{AE}}^3$GIS enables rapid deployment of comprehensive ICS environments containing IT and OT systems, industrial communication protocols, control logic, and diverse security tools. ${\mathrm{AE}}^3$GIS is designed to provide practical training for students using realistic ICS cybersecurity scenarios through a local or remote training platform without the cost, safety, or accessibility limitations of hardware-based labs. Full article

Background: Food insecurity is defined as having limited access to food, while nutrition insecurity is characterized as a lack of consistent access to affordable and acceptable foods that support health, manage or prevent disease, and meet daily nutritional needs. College students face increased risks of food and nutrition insecurity, yet the issue is understudied. This study examined the patterns of food and nutrition insecurity among students at a public university across main and regional campuses. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey using Qualtrics for participant recruitment in November 2023. The USDA’s 10-item toolFood insecurity was measured using the USDA’s 10-item tooland housing security was measured using the U.S. Census Bureau’s National Survey of Income and Program Participation 6-item tool. We used ANOVAs and logistic regression to examine differences across demographics. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 29. Results: There were 6538 student responses. Of these, 36% of students were food insecure, while 20% were nutritionally insecure. Comparatively, food and nutrition insecurity were significantly higher among students with low-income (p < 0.001), housing instability (p < 0.001), a higher number of dependents, and those indicating that they were single/unmarried (p = 0.005), first-generation (p < 0.001), and Pell grant eligible (p < 0.001). Annual income and housing security emerged as significant predictors: lower income was approximately twice as likely to be associated with food insecurity, while those reporting housing insecurity were six times more likely to experience food insecurity. Conclusions: The study findings reveal disparities in food and nutrition insecurity among a diverse student population at a public university. Addressing the issue among them is crucial and requires a multifaceted, inclusive approach. Emergency financial assistance and structural interventions that promote housing security are warranted. Full article

Background/Objectives: Food insecurity remains a growing public health concern among university populations, particularly international students who often face financial constraints, limited social support, and cultural adaptation challenges. This study investigated the association between food insecurity and dietary diversity among international students in Hungary, a population for whom empirical evidence remains limited. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 380 international university students using a structured questionnaire comprising sociodemographic items, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), and a quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Dietary diversity was assessed through Food Group Diversity Score (FGDS) and Food Variety Score (FVS). Statistical analyses included chi-square tests, ANOVA, correlation analyses, and multiple regression using IBM SPSS 28.0. Results: Overall, 62% of participants experienced food insecurity, with 25% moderately and 20% severely food insecure, while 17% were classified as mildly food insecure. While 97% achieved high dietary diversity, only 31% exhibited high food variety. Group comparisons indicated differences in FGDS across food security categories (p = 0.006), whereas FVS did not differ significantly (p = 0.411). In multivariable regression models adjusting for socioeconomic and behavioural factors, food security status was not independently associated with FGDS or FVS. However, scholarship status, monthly income, employment, and meal skipping were significant predictors of dietary diversity indicators. Conclusions: These findings suggest that while food insecurity is prevalent among international students, socioeconomic resources and behavioural factors may play a more prominent role in shaping dietary diversity outcomes. Universities and policymakers should prioritise equitable food access, culturally inclusive meal services, and ongoing monitoring of student food security to promote nutrition equity and academic well-being. Full article

This study examines the relationship between institutional resource allocation to Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS) and the retention rates of students of color at public higher education institutions as operationalized by the Unit Power held by MSPS leaders. Situated in the socio-political context influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement and rising anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) legislation, the research seeks to understand if targeted investments in MSPS meaningfully enhance retention for Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Multiracial students. Using Quantitative Critical Race Theory (QuantCrit), the study employs correlation and multiple regression analyses to assess the effectiveness of MSPS expenditures. Results demonstrate that institutional investment in MSPS is positively associated with higher one-year retention rates for students of color. Additionally, the research highlights the critical role of MSPS administrators’ unit power, characterized by their environmental influence, institutional authority, and negotiation capabilities, in securing necessary funding. These findings contextualize the financial decisions institutions face amidst legislative pressures questioning the validity of diversity initiatives. This study contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating how resource allocation strategies directly impact equity and retention outcomes, advocating for strategic, data-driven investments in MSPS as essential components for institutional effectiveness, credibility, and sustainable diversity practices. Full article

Background/Objective: Helping Early Adolescents Live Their Healthiest Youth (HEALTHY) is a four-session, smoothie-based nutrition education program grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Choice Architecture, designed to promote nutrition security among rural adolescents. This study examined students’ experiences with the program, including perceptions of likeability and perceived learning, as well as the theoretical mechanisms shaping engagement. Methods: A mixed-methods evaluation was conducted in two rural middle schools where the programming was delivered. Process indicators were assessed using brief paper-based surveys administered after each program session. Quantitative items captured likability and willingness to consume smoothies again (at home or school lunch), and qualitative open-ended responses were analyzed inductively. Post-program focus groups were conducted with a subsample of participants (N = 18) and analyzed deductively using a coding framework aligned with SCT constructs. Results: Across sessions, students (N = 360) reported high smoothie likeability, with fewer than 15% indicating dislike of any recipe. Willingness to consume smoothies again remained high, with affirmative responses ranging from 72% to 94% at home and 79% to 97% at school lunch. Inductive thematic analysis indicated that 53% of survey responses reflected session-aligned nutrition knowledge, along with themes related to acceptability and suggestions for improvement. Focus group findings reflected multiple SCT constructs, including knowledge awareness, self-efficacy, and goal-setting, as well as environmental influences regarding engagement, consistent with Choice Architecture. Conclusions: Findings indicate that the HEALTHY program was well received by rural adolescents and reflected key theoretical mechanisms underlying its design. Student feedback guides future program refinement. Full article

European universities are facing increasingly complex security risks, including physical threats, violence, cyberattacks, emergency situations, and the deterioration of the psychological well-being of students and staff. Rapid societal change, technological development, and increasing uncertainty place mounting pressure on higher education institutions to adopt a systematic approach to the protection of life, health, and property. Despite this, many universities continue to operate through fragmented and largely reactive measures that are insufficiently integrated into a coherent security management system. This paper presents an integrated conceptual framework for security management in higher education institutions, linking physical, cyber, organizational, and psychosocial dimensions of risk governance. By framing university security as a component of institutional sustainability and resilience, the paper situates safety governance within the broader context of sustainable higher education institutions. The framework is grounded in an analysis of existing legislative requirements, the principles of crisis management, and practical experience from the higher education sector. It identifies key sources of risk, core areas of responsibility, and preventive mechanisms that strengthen institutional resilience and emergency preparedness. Particular attention is given to the role of academic staff, institutional leadership, community engagement, and the development of digital security as fundamental pillars of a safe academic environment. By integrating security governance with institutional resilience, the framework supports the sustainable continuity of teaching and research under disruptive events. The proposed framework may serve as a methodological foundation for developing university security strategies and as a tool supporting the long-term organizational and social sustainability of higher education institutions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Western societies introduce school-based or school-linked programs in order to improve the physical health status of students and prevent the negative impact of the late diagnosis of a series of diseases and conditions. Preschool visual acuity (VA) screening represents an established school-based approach aimed at the early detection of amblyopia risk factors and vision-related learning difficulties. In this study, we report the methods and outcomes of the first officially organized kindergarten-based VA screening program in Greece, implemented using the Democritus Digital Visual Acuity Test (DDiVAT) screening suite and involving trained educators as part of the screening workflow. The present analysis focuses on the operational performance and screening outcomes within this defined setting. Methods: This study was a kindergarten-based screening. Each kindergarten was equipped with the DDiVAT screening framework, which consisted of a 32-inch, 4K, Android Smart TV with the DDiVAT application preinstalled, a site-license granting access to the secure DDiVAT database, and two vouchers for teachers to participate in the official lifelong DDiVAT training program. Results: From 2476 enrolled students, 207 (8.36%) were referred due to suboptimal presenting VA in one or both eyes. Average VA ranged from logMAR 0.11 to 0.07, which is consistent with former reports. Conclusions: No major technical difficulties were encountered, suggesting that DDiVAT may represent a feasible digital approach for preschool VA screening in real-world educational settings. Full article

Educational platforms increasingly rely on vector databases to store and retrieve embedding representations of large-scale learning corpora (e.g., lecture notes, assignments, feedback, and student Q&A) for retrieval-augmented generation and analytics. However, directly indexing educational text embeddings raises privacy risks (student identities, sensitive performance signals, and protected attributes) and creates a management challenge: embeddings drift as curricula evolve, access policies change, and new content arrives continuously. This paper studies privacy-preserving intelligent management of educational-corpus vector libraries and proposes a novel, end-to-end algorithmic framework that jointly optimizes (i) privacy leakage control, (ii) retrieval quality, and (iii) operational efficiency under streaming updates. We introduce a hierarchical policy-aware vector lifecycle model, a privacy budget scheduler for adaptive re-embedding and re-indexing, and a secure-aware clustering-and-routing mechanism that supports fast query-time filtering with minimal accuracy loss. The resulting system, PP-EDUVec, enables compliant similarity search across multi-tenant educational data while automatically maintaining index health (freshness, redundancy, and utility) over time. On the EDU-Mix benchmark, PP-EDUVec achieves Recall@10 $=0.835$ while reducing representation leakage (LeakRep) from $0.215$ to $0.136$ ($-36.7\%$) and access-pattern leakage (LeakAP) from $0.398$ to $0.255$ ($-35.9\%$), and lowering mean latency from $42.1$ ms to $33.4$ ms ($-20.7\%$) and weekly maintenance time from $55.0$ to $35.8$ min/week ($-34.9\%$) compared with PostFilter. Full article