scholarly journals Towards Secure E-Voting Using Blockchain

Author(s):  
Mishkaat Ansari ◽  
Mohammed Ahmed Shaikh ◽  
Yasra Ansari

Voting in this country is the most tedious job to be handled, involving all kinds of corrupted and illegal deeds. Elections in India are conducted exclusively using EVM’s developed over the past two decades by a group of government-owned companies. These devices, known in India as EVMs, have been adopted greatly for their simple design, ease of conduct, and robustness. However, recently they have also been marked prey following widespread reports of election irregularities. Despite this criticism, many details of the mechanism have never been publicly discussed, and they have not been subjected to a stringent, independent security evaluation. We conclude that in spite of the machines’ simplicity and software trusted computing base, they are vulnerable to indigenous attacks that can modify election results and violate the law of the election commission. Most of the attacks done are physical, by changing the electricals, but if the machine is connected real time to a cloud server and involves an independent screen which shows the confirmation of choice symbolically before placing the final vote, it can help in detecting problems and maintain the integrity of the system.

Author(s):  
Alan S. Rudolph ◽  
Ronald R. Price

We have employed cryoelectron microscopy to visualize events that occur during the freeze-drying of artificial membranes by employing real time video capture techniques. Artificial membranes or liposomes which are spherical structures within internal aqueous space are stabilized by water which provides the driving force for spontaneous self-assembly of these structures. Previous assays of damage to these structures which are induced by freeze drying reveal that the two principal deleterious events that occur are 1) fusion of liposomes and 2) leakage of contents trapped within the liposome [1]. In the past the only way to access these events was to examine the liposomes following the dehydration event. This technique allows the event to be monitored in real time as the liposomes destabilize and as water is sublimed at cryo temperatures in the vacuum of the microscope. The method by which liposomes are compromised by freeze-drying are largely unknown. This technique has shown that cryo-protectants such as glycerol and carbohydrates are able to maintain liposomal structure throughout the drying process.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 449-479
Author(s):  
Sridevi Thambapillay

The Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA) which was passed in 1976 and came into force on 1st March 1982, standardized the laws concerning non-Muslim family matters. Many family issues concerning non-Muslim have emerged ever since, the most important being the effects of unilateral conversion to Islam by one of the parties to the marriage. There has been a lot of public hue and cry for amendments to be made to the LRA. After much deliberation, the Malaysian Parliament finally passed the amendments to the LRA in October 2017, which came into force in December 2018. Although the amendments have addressed selected family law issues, the most important amendment on child custody in a unilateral conversion to Islam was dropped from the Bill at the last minute. Howsoever, at the end of the day, the real question that needs to be addressed is whether the amendments have resolved the major issues that have arisen over the past four decades? Hence, the purpose of this article is as follows: first, to examine the brief background to the passing of the LRA, secondly, to analyse the 2017 amendments, thirdly, to identify the weaknesses that still exist in the LRA, and finally, to suggest recommendations to overcome these weaknesses by comparing the Malaysian position with the Singaporean position. In conclusion, it is submitted that despite the recent amendments to the LRA, much needs to be done to overcome all the remaining issues that have still not been addressed.


Author(s):  
Nurit Yaari

How does a theatrical tradition emerge in the fields of dramatic writing and artistic performance? Can a culture, in which theatre played no part in the past, create a theatrical tradition in real time—and how? What was the contribution of classical Greek drama to the evolution of Israeli theatre? How do political and social conditions affect the encounter between cultures—and what role do they play in creating a theatre with a distinctive identity? This book, the first of its kind, attempts to answer these and other questions, by examining the reception of classical Greek drama in the Israeli theatre over the last seventy years. It deals with dramatic and aesthetic issues while analysing translations, adaptations, new writing, mise-en-scène, and ‘post dramatic’ performances of classical Greek drama that were created and staged at key points of the development of Israeli culture amidst fateful political, social, and cultural events in the country’s history.


Author(s):  
Marie-Sophie de Clippele

AbstractCultural heritage can offer tangible and intangible traces of the past. A past that shapes cultural identity, but also a past from which one sometimes wishes to detach oneself and which nevertheless needs to be remembered, even commemorated. These themes of memory, history and oblivion are examined by the philosopher Paul Ricoeur in his work La mémoire, l’histoire, l’oubli (2000). Inspired by these ideas, this paper analyses how they are closely linked to cultural heritage. Heritage serves as a support for memory, even if it can be mishandled, which in turn can affect heritage policies. Memory and heritage can be abused as a result of wounds from the past or for reasons of ideological manipulation or because of a political will to force people to remember. Furthermore, heritage, as a vehicule of memory, contributes to historical knowledge, but can remain marked by a certain form of subjectivism during the heritage and conservation operation, for which heritage professionals (representatives of the public authority or other experts) are responsible. Yet, the responsibility for conserving cultural heritage also implies the need to avoid any loss of heritage, and to fight against oblivion. Nonetheless, this struggle cannot become totalitarian, nor can it deprive the community of a sometimes salutary oblivion to its own identity construction. These theoretical and philosophical concepts shall be examined in the light of legal discourse, and in particular in Belgian legislation regarding cultural heritage. It is clear that the shift from monument to heritage broadens the legal scope and consequently raises the question of who gets to decide what is considered heritage according to the law, and whether there is something such as a collective human right to cultural heritage. Nonetheless, this broadening of the legislation extends the State intervention into cultural heritage, which in turn entails certain risks, as will be analysed with Belgium’s colonial heritage.


2021 ◽  
pp. 147612702110120
Author(s):  
Siavash Alimadadi ◽  
Andrew Davies ◽  
Fredrik Tell

Research on the strategic organization of time often assumes that collective efforts are motivated by and oriented toward achieving desirable, although not necessarily well-defined, future states. In situations surrounded by uncertainty where work has to proceed urgently to avoid an impending disaster, however, temporal work is guided by engaging with both desirable and undesirable future outcomes. Drawing on a real-time, in-depth study of the inception of the Restoration and Renewal program of the Palace of Westminster, we investigate how organizational actors develop a strategy for an uncertain and highly contested future while safeguarding ongoing operations in the present and preserving the heritage of the past. Anticipation of undesirable future events played a crucial role in mobilizing collective efforts to move forward. We develop a model of future desirability in temporal work to identify how actors construct, link, and navigate interpretations of desirable and undesirable futures in their attempts to create a viable path of action. By conceptualizing temporal work based on the phenomenological quality of the future, we advance understanding of the strategic organization of time in pluralistic contexts characterized by uncertainty and urgency.


1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Scheike

We construct a risk process, where the law of the next jump time or jump size can depend on the past through earlier jump times and jump sizes. Some distributional properties of this process are established. The compensator is found and some martingale properties are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahd Siddiqui ◽  
Mohammadreza Kamyab ◽  
Michael Lowder

Abstract The economic success of unconventional reservoirs relies on driving down completion costs. Manually measuring the operational efficiency for a multi-well pad can be error-prone and time-prohibitive. Complete automation of this analysis can provide an effortless real-time insight to completion engineers. This study presents a real-time method for measuring the time spent on each completion activity, thereby enabling the identification and potential cost reduction avenues. Two data acquisition boxes are utilized at the completion site to transmit both the fracturing and wireline data in real-time to a cloud server. A data processing algorithm is described to determine the start and end of these two operations for each stage of every well on the pad. The described method then determines other activity intervals (fracturing swap-over, wireline swap-over, and waiting on offset wells) based on the relationship between the fracturing and wireline segments of all the wells. The processed data results can be viewed in real-time on mobile or computers connected to the cloud. Viewing the full operational time log in real-time helps engineers analyze the whole operation and determine key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the number of fractured stages per day, pumping percentage, average fracture, and wireline swap-over durations for a given time period. In addition, the performance of the day and night crews can be evaluated. By plotting a comparison of KPIs for wireline and fracturing times, trends can be readily identified for improving operational efficiency. Practices from best-performing stages can be adopted to reduce non-pumping times. This helps operators save time and money to optimize for more efficient operations. As the number of wells increases, the complexity of manual generation of time-log increases. The presented method can handle multi-well fracturing and wireline operations without such difficulty and in real-time. A case study is also presented, where an operator in the US Permian basin used this method in real-time to view and optimize zipper operations. Analysis indicated that the time spent on the swap over activities could be reduced. This operator set a realistic goal of reducing 10 minutes per swap-over interval. Within one pad, the goal was reached utilizing this method, resulting in reducing 15 hours from the total pad time. The presented method provides an automated overview of fracturing operations. Based on the analysis, timely decisions can be made to reduce operational costs. Moreover, because this method is automated, it is not limited to single well operations but can handle multi-well pad completion designs that are commonplace in unconventionals.


2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Juel Jensen ◽  
Marie Maegaard

The article presents a real-time study of standardization and regionalization processes with respect to the use of past participles of strong verbs in the western part of Denmark. Analyses of a large corpus of recordings of informants from two localities show that the use of the dialectalenform of the past participle suffix has been in decline during the last 30 years. Theenforms are replaced by three other forms, one of which is (partly) dialectal, one regional and one standard Danish. The study indicates that a regionalization process has taken place prior to the time period studied, but that it has now been overtaken by a Copenhagen-based standardization process. The study also shows interesting differences between the two localities, arguably due to the geographical location and size, and to the status of the different participle forms in the traditional local dialects.


Author(s):  
Omer Wagner ◽  

Sea freight prices have risen sharply, due to the COVID-19 crisis, global shortages of ships, declining competition in the field, and containers of contagious demand. The increase in transportation costs leads to the increase in the value of goods for customs purposes, and to a further collection of customs duties. The Israeli law allows the state to facilitate importers and waive the extra customs duties, and similar and other facilitations have been made in the past. Therefore, all that is required is the flexibility and activation of goodwill on the part of the state, when interpreting the law.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dvora L Joseph Davey ◽  
Kathryn Dovel ◽  
Rufaro Mvududu ◽  
Dorothy Nyemba ◽  
Nyiko Mashele ◽  
...  

Background: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is safe and effective in postpartum women. HIV self-testing (HIVST) for partners combined with biofeedback counselling through real-time adherence measures may improve daily PrEP use among postpartum women. Methods: Between August 2020 and April 2021 we conducted a pilot study in one primary care clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. We randomized postpartum women who initiated PrEP in pregnancy 1:1 to the intervention group (HIVST + biofeedback counselling following urine tenofovir test) or to standard of care (facility-based HIV tests and routine counselling without biofeedback). The outcomes of interest were PrEP adherence in the past 48-72hours via urine tenofovir tests and partner HIV testing, measured 1-month after randomisation. Secondary outcomes included proportion of partners who tested for HIV and discrepancy between self-reported PrEP adherence and urine tenofovir result. Results: We enrolled 106 women (median age=26 years; median months postpartum=2). Almost half of women reported having sex since giving birth (48%); 76% of those reported condomless sex at last sex. At enrolment most women (72%) reported missing <2 doses in the past 7-days; 36% of women had tenofovir present in her urine (no significant differences by arm). One month after enrolment, 62% (n=33) of women in the intervention arm had tenofovir present in their urine compared to 34% (n=18) in the standard of care arm (RR=1.83; 95% CI=1.19, 2.82). Two-thirds of women in the intervention arm reported that her partner tested for HIV (66%; n=35); compared to 17% (n=9) in the standard of care arm (RR=3.89; 95% CI=2.08, 7.27). The proportion of women with a discrepant adherence result (self-reported good recent adherence with no tenofovir in urine test) was significantly lower in the intervention group (n=8; 17%) compared to the standard of care group (n=24; 46%) (RR=0.33; 95% CI=0.17, 0.67). No social or clinical adverse events were reported in the intervention arm. Conclusions: In this pilot study, HIVST for partners and biofeedback counseling increased levels of recent PrEP adherence, pointing to the importance of these interventions to support PrEP use in this population.


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