Bring your own device (BYOD) to work is common practice these days. Almost everyone has a smart or a tablet and in many office and other jobs, using the device makes workers more effective and more efficient in their work (games and personal social media aside, perhaps). A new study in the International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies suggests, however, that most company IT security managers would prefer employees not to BYOD [...]

Nervous flyers and crew alike would prefer jet airliners not to vibrate so much at take off. Research published in the International Journal of Aerodynamics points to blue skies thinking that might explain the phenomenon and find ways to reduce the safety and image problems associated with this troubling aircraft noise [...]

A novel approach to targeted advertising would allow companies to offer users relevant advertisements without having to expend energy tracking and data mining putative customers and without those customers having to compromise their privacy, according to research published in the International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising [...]

There are two types of liquid water, according to research carried out by an international scientific collaboration. This new peculiarity adds to the growing list of strange phenomena in what we imagine is a simple substance. The discovery could have implications for making and using nanoparticles as well as in understanding how proteins fold into their working shape in the body or misfold to cause diseases such as Alzheimers or CJD [...]

An international team of scientists suggests that we must ramp up energy production by nuclear power if we are to succeed in warding off the worst effects of greenhouse gas emissions on climate change. Writing in the International Journal of Global Energy Issues, the team suggests that beginning in 2020 we could achieve an annual electricity output of 20 terawatts without needing to develop carbon dioxide trapping and storage technology for the tens of billions of tons of emissions that would otherwise drive global warming to catastrophic levels [...]

Fake reviews do nothing for the confidence of customers buying products and services online, they also damage company reputations and can lead to ill feeling about the online marketplace itself. Now, researchers in China have devised an algorithm to help weed out fake reviews on ecommerce sites. They publish details this month in the International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics [...]

Autism Spectrum Disorder is usually diagnosed in infancy, but genetic detection of this brain disorder could mean more timely interventions that improve life for the patient and their carers. Research published in the International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics, suggests that machine learning might be used to analyze genetic data that points to an ASD diagnosis before symptoms become obvious [...]

A wheelchair controller that automatically avoids obstacles and knows when the user is tired or stressed is being developed by researchers in India. Details are described in the International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and Simulation [...]

It is important for organisations to be recognisable on social media, creative with content and loyal to active fans, so says new research published in the International Journal of the Business Environment [...]

Chaos and confusion could be used to encrypt colour photos and protect them from prying eyes, according to computer scientists in Algeria. Writing in the International Journal of Information and Computer Security, the team describe a new algorithm that generates pseudo-random sequences that change a plain image into a ciphered image in a single step leading to a file that cannot be cracked [...]

Using online social media does not lead to long-term problems with our ability to concentrate, according to new research published in the International Journal Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments [...]

Researchers in Uruguay have developed an evolutionary algorithm to allow a smart city to facilitate efficient taxi sharing to cut an individuals transport costs as well as reduce congestion and traffic pollution. Details are outlined in the International Journal of Metaheuristics [...]

We cannot rely on governments, businesses or the public to adopt technological solutions to solve the problem of climate change, instead, social solutions must be put in place, according to research published in the International Journal of Sustainable Society [...]

The development of the smart power grid and the smart meter in our homes to accompany it brings several benefits, such as improved delivery and more efficient billing. Conversely, any digital, connected technology also represents a security risk. Writing in the International Journal of Smart Grid and Green Communications, UK researchers explain how a malicious third party that hacked into the metering system could manipulate en masse the data being sent back to the smart grid and perhaps trigger a power generation shortfall. [...]

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are popular with educational establishments as an efficient way to deliver their materials. Unfortunately, student engagement does not match the enthusiasm of the educators and the number who complete any given course is disturbingly low, according to research published in the International Journal of Learning Technology. The authors of the paper, suggest that an engagement model for MOOCs needs to be implemented and simple steps taken to improve completion rates. [...]

The rise of freight airships could go down like a lead balloon with traditional aircraft companies but could also represent a new high for Asian companies seeking to exploit new ways to reach world markets, according to research published in the International Journal of Aviation Management [...]

The online, digital, world can represent both testing opportunities and crises depending on ones perspective. The first notion that digital could change the world came with the code-breakers at Bletchley Park during World War II, although their role in the war only came to light in recent years as official secrets were opened up to public scrutiny as part of the normal workings of the British government. It was, of course, the critical role played by pioneering mathematician Alan Turing during that period of conflict that led to the modern notion of the computer (the proto-steampunk computers of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage aside) and all that has ensued [...]

The luxury goods market for the ultra rich encompasses jewelry, cars, clothes, tableware, ornaments and much more. If luxury hotels, travel and other services are included alongside retail sales, this sector amounted to $1 trillion dollars in 2015. As such, there is a vast grey market for goods that mimic the priciest brands but sell to people who are less well off. Ian Phau and Min Teah of Curtin Business School, at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, explain how, "brand familiarity is postulated to be a mediator between perception of luxury and product evaluation. It is found that mimicry influences perception of luxury and product evaluation of the mimic brand." [...]

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) learning and support in the UK relies primarily on the goodwill of friends and family and on the availability of staff and volunteers in community venues, such as public libraries. This ad hoc approach is highly variable in quality and reliability and will not reduce the digital divide between older people who could benefit from ICT but do not yet do so and the younger generation, according to research published in the International Journal of Technology [...]

Shoulder surfing can be a serious security and privacy concern for the naive internet user, logging in at a cybercaf, airport or even their place of work, where a glance at their computer screen, tablet or other mobile device could reveal to a third party the sites they are visiting, the subjects they are searching for or even their login details. New research published in the International Journal of Trust Management in Computing and Communications, offers HoneyString an alternative to a honey trap to protect unwary users [...]

Researchers in Canada and China are stitching together an intelligent home energy management system (HEMS) that reduces the number of sensors needed to monitor the domestic environment. Their MinNet system uses convenient plug-in power sensors to construct a wireless sensor network for data collection and establish an analytical framework based on the power model of appliances, the team reports. It can then be used to monitor the status of individual home appliances using the minimum number of power sensors and also estimate occupancy of a given room or the house as a whole using with inference intelligence and so optimise electrical and energy efficiency in terms of lighting, heating, air conditioning. [...]

Urban ridesharing services could be much more effective, efficient and have greater uptake if they were more dynamic and took into account all the major factors associated with running such as a service, according to research published in Progress in Industrial Ecology An International Journal. Giovanni Zenezini of the Department of Management and Production [...]

It is impossible to see when the lead in a pencil cracks within the pencil, but an acoustic sensor can hear the change in the way the pencil vibrates. Now, researchers in China have reported in the International Journal of Sensor Networks how the same principle can be used to detect cracks in oil pipelines [...]

Twitter can be an engaging communication tool for building a learning community according to research just published in the International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments. Scott Warren of the College of Information, at the University of North Texas, in Denton, USA, explains how the merits of the microblogging platform have been little [...]

The level of education in a given country correlates well with life expectancy at birth, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Innovation and Learning. The researchers suggest that educating the young as well as encouraging lifelong learning could both improve the figures still further. Anica Novak of the NGO Association [...]

A new study of backpackers in Latin America published in the International Journal of Tourism Anthropology suggests that while most follow the pattern of Western backpackers as in other parts of the world and adhere to the general code of honour they are more likely to finance their journeys through artisanal activities, such as selling [...]

Telemedicine, which allows doctors to communicate, diagnose and even treat their patients remotely is on the rise thanks to advances in information technology. It allows healthcare workers to securely monitor patients in inaccessible parts of the world as well as providing more timely responses for patients in many situations. New research published in the International [...]

Today, more and more of us get our news and information from social networking sites, which include the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and countless others. This runs in obvious parallel with the slow decline of printed magazines and newspapers as well as television being usurped by YouTube and on-demand video streaming services such [...]

A new study suggests that natural proteins can be used to effectively test new replacement hip and knee joints in the laboratory. The work could help with improving design in order to reduce wear and tear and increase the lifespan of such prosthetics. Details are reported this week in the International Journal of Surface Science [...]

Corporate data breaches seem to be on the rise, rarely a week passes without a company revealing that its database has been hacked and regrettably usernames, passwords, credit card details and its customers personal information has been leaked on to the open internet. A new protection, nicknamed Phoney, is reported in the International Journal of [...]

A computer algorithm that can tell whether you are happy or sad, angry or expressing almost any other emotion would be a boon to the games industry. New research published in the International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics describes such a system that is almost 99 percent accurate. Hyung-Il Choi of the School of [...]

Digitisation and the web are being used to manage and disseminate cultural heritage, according to research published in the International Journal of Computational Intelligence Studies. A new study focuses on an Ionian music archive to show how modern technology can be used to conserve musical cultural heritage. Dimitrios Koukopoulos and Dimitrios Tsolis of the Department [...]

Independent, indie, record companies and their artists have benefited from the internet in ways that the major label have not since the heady days of the post-cassette facile file-sharing era made most public by Napster and its ilk in the late 1990s. Thats the broad conclusion of research by Silvia Novaes Zilber and Odair Froes [...]

The more we rely on our smart phones being connected to the Internet, the greater the anxiety we feel if we lose that connection when travelling, according to new research published in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology. Hui-Jen Yang and Yun-Long Lay of the National Chin-Yi University of Technology, in Taichung, Taiwan [...]

Scientists in Brazil are using a genetic algorithm to create a realistic soundscape of birdsong that can be triggered by updates from the micro-blogging service, Twitter, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Details of the computer model which mimics the behavior of a birds songbox, its syrinx to create realistic sounds are published [...]

Researchers in Europe have reviewed cancer rates among people in parts of the world where natural background radiation is higher than average and found that incidence is not as high as one might guess. The findings, published in the International Journal of Low Radiation suggests that science ought to take a second look at studies [...]

Fires caused by lightning strikes on hydrocarbon storage plants are a century-old, yet to be addressed, problem, according to research published in the International Journal of Forensic Engineering. In the era of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, this is becoming an even more poignant issue for the fossil fuel industry. Sterling Rooke of X8 Inc in [...]

The internet has given almost everyone a very public voice and a chance to offer their opinion on almost every subject in a way that was not possible before. Research published in the International Journal of Knowledge and Web Intelligence demonstrates how consumer product reviews published on the internet could be analyzed through data mining [...]

Cattle have bad breath and commonly suffer from severe, chronic flatus generating large amounts of methane, which is a greenhouse gas and a driver of anthropogenic global warming. There is an obvious answer to this problem, stop breeding cattle. Unfortunately a large proportion of us enjoy our bovine dairy products and meat and until synthetic [...]

The greenhouse gas benefits of natural gas is greatest in electricity generation when it displaces coal and oil, but not renewables, while the benefits are negligible in vehicle fuel use. Using natural gas instead of coal or oil in electricity generation could have a significant effect on net carbon emissions into the atmosphere. By contrast,[...]

A computer program that can predict whether or not a given pharmaceutical will have worrying side effects has been developed by researchers in the USA. Md Jamiul Jahid and Jianhua Ruan of the Department of Computer Science, at the University of Texas at San Antonio, have developed the in silico testing system for drugs in [...]

Biodiesel represents a potentially cleaner and more sustainable fuel than those derived from crude oil. Now, scientists have developed a high-speed conversion that turns waste cooking oil into fuel using ultrasound and caustic soda. Details are reported in the International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology. Ehsan Khosravi, Ahmad Shariati and Mohammad Reza Khosravi [...]

How much do consumers care about the carbon footprint of the products they buy? Would they care more if the goods were labeled with emissions data? Does it matter at which stage in the lifecycle of a product the carbon is emitted? Research published in the International Journal of Environmental Policy and Decision Making offers [...]

A forensic analysis of the so-called private browsing modes of the most popular web browsers, Microsofts Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera, reveals that the Microsoft product tested in this research leaves traces on the user system that could betray browsing details; the other browsers maintain much better privacy, according to a report [...]

Carbon capture and storage could be used to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and thus ameliorate their impact on climate change. The focus of this technology is on the large-scale reduction of carbon emissions from fossil-fuelled power plants. Research published in the International Journal of Decision Support Systems investigates the pros and cons, assesses the risks [...]

Back in 1997, the new Labour government of the UK had great expectations of the third sector, the voluntary sector, in other words. In 2010 when Labour was displaced in government by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, the new leadership introduced the idea of a Big Society, where we were to all think globally but act [...]

A series of aerofoil-shaped panels downwind of an airport runway could break up the plumes of exhaust gases from departing aircraft, preventing those gases from staying near the ground and so dispersing them more quickly. A similar array could be used to prevent vehicle pollutants accumulating downwind of motorways, or even to disperse ground frosts [...]

Improving computer literacy and building internet and communications technology (ICT) skills in Indigenous communities is more about understanding the opportunities rather than imposing Western style learning programs, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments. The papers author Michelle Eady of the University of Wollongong, New [...]

Twitter is one of the most well-known social media, social networking platforms. The famous, the infamous and the not-so-famous use it to express their hopes, dreams, wit and wisdom, their breakfast and other habits and their grievances with an interested public. Many accounts on the service are also automated, driven by software known as bots, [...]