Gender paper to be presented to the ANC Policy Conference 2012: discussion document
- African National Congress (ANC)
- Authors: African National Congress (ANC)
- Date: 2012-02-01
- Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Social planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68675 , vital:29304
- Description: This document is informed by the struggles of women in the fight against colonialism and apartheid which were also encapsulated in the Women’s Charter of 1954. The discussion is also premised on the charter that women drew up in 1993, prior to the 1994 elections. Our Constitution, in its quest to protect and promote gender equality in South Africa, drew largely from these documents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-02-01
- Authors: African National Congress (ANC)
- Date: 2012-02-01
- Subjects: South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- , Social planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: book , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68675 , vital:29304
- Description: This document is informed by the struggles of women in the fight against colonialism and apartheid which were also encapsulated in the Women’s Charter of 1954. The discussion is also premised on the charter that women drew up in 1993, prior to the 1994 elections. Our Constitution, in its quest to protect and promote gender equality in South Africa, drew largely from these documents.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012-02-01
'God is my forest': Xhosa cultural values provide untapped opportunities for conservation
- Cocks, Michelle L, Dold, Anthony P, Vetter, Susan M
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Dold, Anthony P , Vetter, Susan M
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141198 , vital:37952 , DOI: 10.4102/sajs.v108i5/6.880
- Description: In South Africa conservation is still largely framed in terms of Western scientific values, with a focus on material benefits to local communities, whilst little is known about the intangible values local people attach to nature and biodiversity. We explored the cultural, spiritual and emotional relationships with nature expressed by Xhosa people, within the MaputalandPondoland-Albany Hotspot, as well as the activities that mediate this relationship. A descriptive research approach was applied to document the emotions, meanings and values associated with landscape elements. This approach included group and individual interviews and ‘walk-in-the-woods’ interviews and participatory mapping exercises. Respondents portrayed a strong, although not always easily articulated, appreciation for nature, especially ihlathi lesiXhosa (‘Xhosa forest’, vegetation types within the Thicket Biome).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Dold, Anthony P , Vetter, Susan M
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141198 , vital:37952 , DOI: 10.4102/sajs.v108i5/6.880
- Description: In South Africa conservation is still largely framed in terms of Western scientific values, with a focus on material benefits to local communities, whilst little is known about the intangible values local people attach to nature and biodiversity. We explored the cultural, spiritual and emotional relationships with nature expressed by Xhosa people, within the MaputalandPondoland-Albany Hotspot, as well as the activities that mediate this relationship. A descriptive research approach was applied to document the emotions, meanings and values associated with landscape elements. This approach included group and individual interviews and ‘walk-in-the-woods’ interviews and participatory mapping exercises. Respondents portrayed a strong, although not always easily articulated, appreciation for nature, especially ihlathi lesiXhosa (‘Xhosa forest’, vegetation types within the Thicket Biome).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
4-Azidoaniline-based electropolymer as a building block for functionalisation of conductive surfaces
- Coates, Megan, Elamari, Hichem, Girard, Christian, Griveau, Sophie, Nyokong, Tebello, Bedioui, Fethi
- Authors: Coates, Megan , Elamari, Hichem , Girard, Christian , Griveau, Sophie , Nyokong, Tebello , Bedioui, Fethi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/244404 , vital:51254 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2012.01.001"
- Description: We propose in this work to compare three approaches using 4-azidoaniline combined with “click” chemistry and electrochemistry to anchor ferrocene moieties at glassy carbon surfaces. The immobilisation of a newly synthesised molecule, 4-(4-ferrocenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)aniline, through direct electropolymerisation or via in situ diazotization followed by electrografting is studied by analysing the samples by XPS and electrochemistry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
4-Azidoaniline-based electropolymer as a building block for functionalisation of conductive surfaces
- Authors: Coates, Megan , Elamari, Hichem , Girard, Christian , Griveau, Sophie , Nyokong, Tebello , Bedioui, Fethi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/244404 , vital:51254 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2012.01.001"
- Description: We propose in this work to compare three approaches using 4-azidoaniline combined with “click” chemistry and electrochemistry to anchor ferrocene moieties at glassy carbon surfaces. The immobilisation of a newly synthesised molecule, 4-(4-ferrocenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)aniline, through direct electropolymerisation or via in situ diazotization followed by electrografting is studied by analysing the samples by XPS and electrochemistry.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A comparative study on the sensitive detection of hydroxyl radical using thiol-capped CdTe and CdTe/ZnS quantum dots
- Adegoke, Oluwasesan, Nyokong, Tebello
- Authors: Adegoke, Oluwasesan , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/242778 , vital:51077 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-012-1089-2"
- Description: Four types of water-soluble luminescent quantum dots (QDs) whose surface was functionlaized with thioglycolic acid (TGA), 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), or glutathione (GSH), were investigated for the sensitive and selective detection of hydroxyl radical (●OH) in aqueous media. It was found that the type of capping agent and QD influenced the sensitivity of the probe. The order of sensitivity of the probe was: GSH-CdTe@ZnS > MPA-CdTe@ZnS > TGA-CdTe > MPA-CdTe QDs. Under the optimum conditions, a limit of detection as low as 8.5 × 10-8 M was obtained using GSH-CdTe@ZnS. The effects of foreign reactive oxygen species and the Fenton reactants and products as possible interferences on the proposed probe were negligible for CdTe@ZnS QDs. Besides, experimental results indicated that CdTe@ZnS QDs were more attractive for the selective recognition of ●OH than CdTe QDs. The mechanistic reaction pathway between the QDs and ●OH is proposed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Adegoke, Oluwasesan , Nyokong, Tebello
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/242778 , vital:51077 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-012-1089-2"
- Description: Four types of water-soluble luminescent quantum dots (QDs) whose surface was functionlaized with thioglycolic acid (TGA), 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), or glutathione (GSH), were investigated for the sensitive and selective detection of hydroxyl radical (●OH) in aqueous media. It was found that the type of capping agent and QD influenced the sensitivity of the probe. The order of sensitivity of the probe was: GSH-CdTe@ZnS > MPA-CdTe@ZnS > TGA-CdTe > MPA-CdTe QDs. Under the optimum conditions, a limit of detection as low as 8.5 × 10-8 M was obtained using GSH-CdTe@ZnS. The effects of foreign reactive oxygen species and the Fenton reactants and products as possible interferences on the proposed probe were negligible for CdTe@ZnS QDs. Besides, experimental results indicated that CdTe@ZnS QDs were more attractive for the selective recognition of ●OH than CdTe QDs. The mechanistic reaction pathway between the QDs and ●OH is proposed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A computer network attack taxonomy and ontology
- Van Heerden, Renier P, Irwin, Barry V W, Burke, Ivan D, Leenen, Louise
- Authors: Van Heerden, Renier P , Irwin, Barry V W , Burke, Ivan D , Leenen, Louise
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430064 , vital:72663 , DOI: 10.4018/ijcwt.2012070102
- Description: Computer network attacks differ in the motivation of the entity behind the attack, the execution and the end result. The diversity of attacks has the consequence that no standard classification ex-ists. The benefit of automated classification of attacks, means that an attack could be mitigated accordingly. The authors extend a previous, initial taxonomy of computer network attacks which forms the basis of a proposed network attack ontology in this pa-per. The objective of this ontology is to automate the classifica-tion of a network attack during its early stages. Most published taxonomies present an attack from either the attacker's or defend-er's point of view. The authors' taxonomy presents both these points of view. The framework for an ontology was developed using a core class, the "Attack Scenario", which can be used to characterize and classify computer network attacks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Van Heerden, Renier P , Irwin, Barry V W , Burke, Ivan D , Leenen, Louise
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/430064 , vital:72663 , DOI: 10.4018/ijcwt.2012070102
- Description: Computer network attacks differ in the motivation of the entity behind the attack, the execution and the end result. The diversity of attacks has the consequence that no standard classification ex-ists. The benefit of automated classification of attacks, means that an attack could be mitigated accordingly. The authors extend a previous, initial taxonomy of computer network attacks which forms the basis of a proposed network attack ontology in this pa-per. The objective of this ontology is to automate the classifica-tion of a network attack during its early stages. Most published taxonomies present an attack from either the attacker's or defend-er's point of view. The authors' taxonomy presents both these points of view. The framework for an ontology was developed using a core class, the "Attack Scenario", which can be used to characterize and classify computer network attacks.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A critical psychology of the postcolonial: the mind of apartheid. A book review
- Authors: Matthews, Sally
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142351 , vital:38072 , DOI: 10.1080/14725843.2012.730818
- Description: This book provides a careful and detailed defence of the idea that the (post)colonial condition, and particularly the role that race has played in the (post)colony, cannot properly be understood without the theorisation of the ‘psychopolitical’. By the ‘psychopolitical’, Hook refers to ‘a reciprocal form of critique in which we not only place the psychological within the register of the political, but, perhaps more challengingly, in which the political is also – although strategically – approached through the register of the psychological’ (p. 40). In order to do this, Hook engages with and develops upon the insights of some key postcolonial thinkers, most notably Frantz Fanon and Homi Bhabha. Hook argues convincingly that concepts and approaches from psychoanalysis are helpful in properly understanding the postcolonial condition and, particularly, in getting to grips with the malleability and persistence of racism.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Matthews, Sally
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/142351 , vital:38072 , DOI: 10.1080/14725843.2012.730818
- Description: This book provides a careful and detailed defence of the idea that the (post)colonial condition, and particularly the role that race has played in the (post)colony, cannot properly be understood without the theorisation of the ‘psychopolitical’. By the ‘psychopolitical’, Hook refers to ‘a reciprocal form of critique in which we not only place the psychological within the register of the political, but, perhaps more challengingly, in which the political is also – although strategically – approached through the register of the psychological’ (p. 40). In order to do this, Hook engages with and develops upon the insights of some key postcolonial thinkers, most notably Frantz Fanon and Homi Bhabha. Hook argues convincingly that concepts and approaches from psychoanalysis are helpful in properly understanding the postcolonial condition and, particularly, in getting to grips with the malleability and persistence of racism.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A Framework for the Static Analysis of Malware focusing on Signal Processing Techniques
- Zeisberger, Sascha, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Zeisberger, Sascha , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/427914 , vital:72473 , https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barry-Ir-win/publication/327622833_A_Framework_for_the_Static_Analysis_of_Mal-ware_focusing_on_Signal_Processing_Techniques/links/5b9a1396a6fdcc59bf8dfc87/A-Framework-for-the-Static-Analysis-of-Malware-focusing-on-Signal-Processing-Techniques.pdf
- Description: The information gathered through conventional static analysis of malicious binaries has become increasingly limited. This is due to the rate at which new malware is being created as well as the increasingly complex methods employed to obfuscating these binaries. This paper discusses the development of a framework to analyse malware using signal processing techniques, the initial iteration of which focuses on common audio processing techniques such as Fourier transforms. The aim of this research is to identify characteristics of malware and the encryption methods used to obfuscate malware. This is achieved through the analysis of their binary structure, potentially providing an additional metric for autonomously fingerprinting malware.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Zeisberger, Sascha , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/427914 , vital:72473 , https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Barry-Ir-win/publication/327622833_A_Framework_for_the_Static_Analysis_of_Mal-ware_focusing_on_Signal_Processing_Techniques/links/5b9a1396a6fdcc59bf8dfc87/A-Framework-for-the-Static-Analysis-of-Malware-focusing-on-Signal-Processing-Techniques.pdf
- Description: The information gathered through conventional static analysis of malicious binaries has become increasingly limited. This is due to the rate at which new malware is being created as well as the increasingly complex methods employed to obfuscating these binaries. This paper discusses the development of a framework to analyse malware using signal processing techniques, the initial iteration of which focuses on common audio processing techniques such as Fourier transforms. The aim of this research is to identify characteristics of malware and the encryption methods used to obfuscate malware. This is achieved through the analysis of their binary structure, potentially providing an additional metric for autonomously fingerprinting malware.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A highly selective and sensitive pyridylazo-2-naphthol-poly (acrylic acid) functionalized electrospun nanofiber fluorescence “turn-off” chemosensory system for Ni 2+
- Adewuyi, Sheriff, Ondigo, Dezzline A, Zugle, Ruphino, Tshentu, Zenixole, Nyokong, Tebello, Torto, Nelson
- Authors: Adewuyi, Sheriff , Ondigo, Dezzline A , Zugle, Ruphino , Tshentu, Zenixole , Nyokong, Tebello , Torto, Nelson
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/246012 , vital:51428 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C2AY25182E"
- Description: A fluorescent nanofiber probe for the determination of Ni2+ was developed via the electrospinning of a covalently functionalized pyridylazo-2-naphthol-poly(acrylic acid) polymer. Fluorescent nanofibers with diameters in the range 230–800 nm were produced with uniformly dispersed fluorophores. The excitation and emission fluorescence were at wavelengths 479 and 557 nm respectively, thereby exhibiting a good Stokes' shift. This Ni2+ probe that employs fluorescence quenching in a solid receptor–fluorophore system exhibited a good correlation between the fluorescence intensity and nickel concentration up to 1.0 μg mL−1 based on the Stern–Volmer mechanism. The probe achieved a detection limit (3δ/S) of 0.07 ng mL−1 and a precision, calculated as a relative standard deviation (RSD) of more than 4% (n = 8). The concentration of Ni2+ in a certified reference material (SEP-3) was found to be 0.8986 μg mL−1, which is significantly comparable with the certified value of 0.8980 μg mL−1. The accuracy of the determinations, expressed as a relative error between the certified and the observed values of certified reference groundwater was ≤0.1%. The versatility of the nanofiber probe was demonstrated by affording simple, rapid and selective detection of Ni2+ in the presence of other competing metal ions by direct analysis, without employing any further sample handling steps.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Adewuyi, Sheriff , Ondigo, Dezzline A , Zugle, Ruphino , Tshentu, Zenixole , Nyokong, Tebello , Torto, Nelson
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/246012 , vital:51428 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C2AY25182E"
- Description: A fluorescent nanofiber probe for the determination of Ni2+ was developed via the electrospinning of a covalently functionalized pyridylazo-2-naphthol-poly(acrylic acid) polymer. Fluorescent nanofibers with diameters in the range 230–800 nm were produced with uniformly dispersed fluorophores. The excitation and emission fluorescence were at wavelengths 479 and 557 nm respectively, thereby exhibiting a good Stokes' shift. This Ni2+ probe that employs fluorescence quenching in a solid receptor–fluorophore system exhibited a good correlation between the fluorescence intensity and nickel concentration up to 1.0 μg mL−1 based on the Stern–Volmer mechanism. The probe achieved a detection limit (3δ/S) of 0.07 ng mL−1 and a precision, calculated as a relative standard deviation (RSD) of more than 4% (n = 8). The concentration of Ni2+ in a certified reference material (SEP-3) was found to be 0.8986 μg mL−1, which is significantly comparable with the certified value of 0.8980 μg mL−1. The accuracy of the determinations, expressed as a relative error between the certified and the observed values of certified reference groundwater was ≤0.1%. The versatility of the nanofiber probe was demonstrated by affording simple, rapid and selective detection of Ni2+ in the presence of other competing metal ions by direct analysis, without employing any further sample handling steps.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A lover’s shame
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275692 , vital:55071 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-012-9356-5"
- Description: Shame is one of the more painful consequences of loving someone; my beloved’s doing something immoral can cause me to be ashamed of her. The guiding thought behind this paper is that explaining this phenomenon can tell us something about what it means to love. The phenomenon of beloved-induced shame has been largely neglected by philosophers working on shame, most of whom conceive of shame as being a reflexive attitude. Bennett Helm has recently suggested that in order to account for beloved-induced shame, we should deny the reflexivity of shame. After arguing that Helm’s account is inadequate, I proceed to develop an account of beloved-induced shame that rightly preserves its reflexivity. A familiar feature of love is that it involves an evaluative dependence; when I love someone, my well-being depends upon her life’s going well. I argue that loving someone also involves a persistent tendency to believe that her life is going well, in the sense that she is a good person, that she is not prone to wickedness. Lovers are inclined, more strongly than they otherwise would be, to give their beloveds the moral benefit of the doubt. These two features of loving—an evaluative dependence and a persistent tendency to believe in the beloved’s moral goodness—provide the conditions for a lover to experience shame when he discovers that his beloved has morally transgressed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Jones, Ward E
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/275692 , vital:55071 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-012-9356-5"
- Description: Shame is one of the more painful consequences of loving someone; my beloved’s doing something immoral can cause me to be ashamed of her. The guiding thought behind this paper is that explaining this phenomenon can tell us something about what it means to love. The phenomenon of beloved-induced shame has been largely neglected by philosophers working on shame, most of whom conceive of shame as being a reflexive attitude. Bennett Helm has recently suggested that in order to account for beloved-induced shame, we should deny the reflexivity of shame. After arguing that Helm’s account is inadequate, I proceed to develop an account of beloved-induced shame that rightly preserves its reflexivity. A familiar feature of love is that it involves an evaluative dependence; when I love someone, my well-being depends upon her life’s going well. I argue that loving someone also involves a persistent tendency to believe that her life is going well, in the sense that she is a good person, that she is not prone to wickedness. Lovers are inclined, more strongly than they otherwise would be, to give their beloveds the moral benefit of the doubt. These two features of loving—an evaluative dependence and a persistent tendency to believe in the beloved’s moral goodness—provide the conditions for a lover to experience shame when he discovers that his beloved has morally transgressed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A Mobile Phone Solution to Improve Geographic Mobility
- Miteche, Sacha, Terzoli, Alfredo, Thinyane, Hannah
- Authors: Miteche, Sacha , Terzoli, Alfredo , Thinyane, Hannah
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428423 , vital:72510 , https://www.cs.ru.ac.za/research/g10m4201/docs/SATNACWIP.pdf
- Description: Motor vehicle ride sharing is a popular way of travelling in most coun-tries. Different incentives have made this mode of travelling to exist formally and informally, for example as in carpooling clubs and hitchhik-ing respectively. Advances in Information and Communication Tech-nology (ICT) have facilitated developments of formal Dynamic Ride Sharing (DRS) systems that target mobile devices. These are seen as solutions to people’s preference of flexible ride sharing services. In de-veloping countries, hitchhiking is a common technique for ride sharing travels. This paper describes a proposal to develop a DRS system that primarily targets mobile phone users in South Africa for informal ride sharing methods done in hitchhiking.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Miteche, Sacha , Terzoli, Alfredo , Thinyane, Hannah
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/428423 , vital:72510 , https://www.cs.ru.ac.za/research/g10m4201/docs/SATNACWIP.pdf
- Description: Motor vehicle ride sharing is a popular way of travelling in most coun-tries. Different incentives have made this mode of travelling to exist formally and informally, for example as in carpooling clubs and hitchhik-ing respectively. Advances in Information and Communication Tech-nology (ICT) have facilitated developments of formal Dynamic Ride Sharing (DRS) systems that target mobile devices. These are seen as solutions to people’s preference of flexible ride sharing services. In de-veloping countries, hitchhiking is a common technique for ride sharing travels. This paper describes a proposal to develop a DRS system that primarily targets mobile phone users in South Africa for informal ride sharing methods done in hitchhiking.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A model for the analysis of small group interaction–and beyond?:
- Authors: Hunt, Sally
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/139171 , vital:37711 , DOI: 10.1080/10118063.1997.9724122
- Description: This article describes a branching model developed for the analysis of interaction in small teaching groups in a tertiary setting. Based within Conversation Analysis, the model constitutes a set of justifications for the validity of utterances in terms of their place on the conversational floor. Examples of the classifications included in the model are provided from a broader study of interaction in tutorials at an Eastern Cape university. It is suggested that while the model was developed for a specific context, it could be adapted for use in a variety of contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Hunt, Sally
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/139171 , vital:37711 , DOI: 10.1080/10118063.1997.9724122
- Description: This article describes a branching model developed for the analysis of interaction in small teaching groups in a tertiary setting. Based within Conversation Analysis, the model constitutes a set of justifications for the validity of utterances in terms of their place on the conversational floor. Examples of the classifications included in the model are provided from a broader study of interaction in tutorials at an Eastern Cape university. It is suggested that while the model was developed for a specific context, it could be adapted for use in a variety of contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A network telescope perspective of the Conficker outbreak
- Authors: Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429728 , vital:72635 , 10.1109/ISSA.2012.6320455
- Description: This paper discusses a dataset of some 16 million packets targeting port 445/tcp collected by a network telescope utilising a /24 netblock in South African IP address space. An initial overview of the collected data is provided. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the packet characteristics observed, including size and TTL. The peculiarities of the observed target selection and the results of the flaw in the Conficker worm's propagation algorithm are presented. An analysis of the 4 million observed source hosts is reported by grouped by both packet counts and the number of distinct hosts per network address block. Address blocks of size /8, 16 and 24 are used for groupings. The localisation, by geographic region and numerical proximity, of high ranking aggregate netblocks is highlighted. The paper concludes with some overall analyses, and consideration of the application of network telescopes to the monitoring of such outbreaks in the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429728 , vital:72635 , 10.1109/ISSA.2012.6320455
- Description: This paper discusses a dataset of some 16 million packets targeting port 445/tcp collected by a network telescope utilising a /24 netblock in South African IP address space. An initial overview of the collected data is provided. This is followed by a detailed analysis of the packet characteristics observed, including size and TTL. The peculiarities of the observed target selection and the results of the flaw in the Conficker worm's propagation algorithm are presented. An analysis of the 4 million observed source hosts is reported by grouped by both packet counts and the number of distinct hosts per network address block. Address blocks of size /8, 16 and 24 are used for groupings. The localisation, by geographic region and numerical proximity, of high ranking aggregate netblocks is highlighted. The paper concludes with some overall analyses, and consideration of the application of network telescopes to the monitoring of such outbreaks in the future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A new broom sweeps clean: the economic and cultural value of grass brooms in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Cocks, Michelle L, Dold, Anthony P
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Dold, Anthony P
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141382 , vital:37967 , DOI: 10.1080/14728028.2004.9752477
- Description: In southern Africa over the last twenty years, much attention has been given to the importance of NTFPs for rural livelihoods through their household consumption and sale. They have been classified as having either subsistence consumption or commercial values. These values are mostly related to their utilitarian functions, but recent studies show that NTFPs also hold strong cultural functions. Such cultural functions can play a role in both rural and urban livelihoods; consequently the values of NTFPs may be related to both utilitarian and cultural functions. This paper demonstrates the cultural functions of grass brooms in urban areas in South Africa and the impact of their trade on income generation in rural areas, and discusses the concept of culture as a significant factor in the understanding of the role of NTFPs in livelihoods, and their values.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Cocks, Michelle L , Dold, Anthony P
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/141382 , vital:37967 , DOI: 10.1080/14728028.2004.9752477
- Description: In southern Africa over the last twenty years, much attention has been given to the importance of NTFPs for rural livelihoods through their household consumption and sale. They have been classified as having either subsistence consumption or commercial values. These values are mostly related to their utilitarian functions, but recent studies show that NTFPs also hold strong cultural functions. Such cultural functions can play a role in both rural and urban livelihoods; consequently the values of NTFPs may be related to both utilitarian and cultural functions. This paper demonstrates the cultural functions of grass brooms in urban areas in South Africa and the impact of their trade on income generation in rural areas, and discusses the concept of culture as a significant factor in the understanding of the role of NTFPs in livelihoods, and their values.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A production function for cricket: the South African perspective
- Brock, Kelsey, Fraser, Gavin, Botha, Ferdi
- Authors: Brock, Kelsey , Fraser, Gavin , Botha, Ferdi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/396007 , vital:69143 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC124240"
- Description: Production functions are common to any productive activity. Although it may not appear obvious, cricket is no different. Production functions in cricket provide a wide range of information, utilised to enhance efficiency and maximize match success. Given these benefits, this study involved the derivation of a production function for the South African SuperSport Series and an analysis of technical efficiency. An econometric analysis was conducted on data from the 2004-2011 cricket seasons and it was concluded that the most optimal strategy for South African teams involved a combination of attacking batting and defensive bowling. Furthermore, South African teams had a relatively low variable substitutability and a high degree of technical efficiency.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Brock, Kelsey , Fraser, Gavin , Botha, Ferdi
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/396007 , vital:69143 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC124240"
- Description: Production functions are common to any productive activity. Although it may not appear obvious, cricket is no different. Production functions in cricket provide a wide range of information, utilised to enhance efficiency and maximize match success. Given these benefits, this study involved the derivation of a production function for the South African SuperSport Series and an analysis of technical efficiency. An econometric analysis was conducted on data from the 2004-2011 cricket seasons and it was concluded that the most optimal strategy for South African teams involved a combination of attacking batting and defensive bowling. Furthermore, South African teams had a relatively low variable substitutability and a high degree of technical efficiency.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A qualitative analysis to determine the readiness of rural communities to adopt ICTs: A Siyakhula Living Lab Case Study
- Gumbo, Sibukelo, Jere, Norbert, Terzoli, Alfredo
- Authors: Gumbo, Sibukelo , Jere, Norbert , Terzoli, Alfredo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431396 , vital:72771
- Description: Rural schools have a pressing need for ICT and Internet services, for them-selves and the surrounding communities. Educators can play a crucial role of fulfilling this need. But how ready are schools, educators and communi-ties to engage with ICT and use it for their empowerment? This paper re-ports the findings of an e-readiness assessment and promotion drive by re-searchers from the Siyakhula Living Lab in parts of the Mbashe Municipali-ty, in South Africa. The Siyakhula Living Lab is a multi-disciplinary, multi-year initiative to foster grassroots innovation in marginalized communities with the aim of improving their lives and economies. The drive was con-ducted to support the expansion of the network of Digital Access Nodes, ie ICT points-of-presence of the Living Lab in the community: this network rep-resents the structural backbone on which all other activities rest. The as-sessment shows that, while the practical difficulties are many, the communi-ties are very eager to engage with ICT and understand fairly well the con-nection between ICT availability and the possibility of improvement in their life conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Gumbo, Sibukelo , Jere, Norbert , Terzoli, Alfredo
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/431396 , vital:72771
- Description: Rural schools have a pressing need for ICT and Internet services, for them-selves and the surrounding communities. Educators can play a crucial role of fulfilling this need. But how ready are schools, educators and communi-ties to engage with ICT and use it for their empowerment? This paper re-ports the findings of an e-readiness assessment and promotion drive by re-searchers from the Siyakhula Living Lab in parts of the Mbashe Municipali-ty, in South Africa. The Siyakhula Living Lab is a multi-disciplinary, multi-year initiative to foster grassroots innovation in marginalized communities with the aim of improving their lives and economies. The drive was con-ducted to support the expansion of the network of Digital Access Nodes, ie ICT points-of-presence of the Living Lab in the community: this network rep-resents the structural backbone on which all other activities rest. The as-sessment shows that, while the practical difficulties are many, the communi-ties are very eager to engage with ICT and understand fairly well the con-nection between ICT availability and the possibility of improvement in their life conditions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A quantitative post-release evaluation of biological control of water lettuce, Pistia stratiotes L. (Araceae) by the weevil Neohydronomus affinis Hustache (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) at Cape Recife Nature Reserve, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Moore, Gareth R, Hill, Martin P
- Authors: Moore, Gareth R , Hill, Martin P
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6839 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010987 , http://dx.doi.org/10.4001/003.020.0217 , https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0579-5298
- Description: [from the introduction] Water lettuce, Pistia stratiotes L. (Araceae) is recognized as being among the world’s worst aquatic weeds. In its adventive range, the plant forms extensive mats capable of blocking navigation channels, impeding water flow in irrigation and flood control canals, and disrupting hydropower generation (Holm et al. 1977). Dense mats of the weed prevent light penetration into the water column which negatively affects submerged aquatic plant communities, causing a lowering of the oxygen concentration and thereby reducing benthic invertebrate and fish populations (Neuenschwander et al. 2009).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Moore, Gareth R , Hill, Martin P
- Date: 2012
- Language: English
- Type: text , Article
- Identifier: vital:6839 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1010987 , http://dx.doi.org/10.4001/003.020.0217 , https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0579-5298
- Description: [from the introduction] Water lettuce, Pistia stratiotes L. (Araceae) is recognized as being among the world’s worst aquatic weeds. In its adventive range, the plant forms extensive mats capable of blocking navigation channels, impeding water flow in irrigation and flood control canals, and disrupting hydropower generation (Holm et al. 1977). Dense mats of the weed prevent light penetration into the water column which negatively affects submerged aquatic plant communities, causing a lowering of the oxygen concentration and thereby reducing benthic invertebrate and fish populations (Neuenschwander et al. 2009).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A study of four-dimensional oscillator groups and the associated left-invariant control affine systems
- Authors: Biggs, Rory
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164941 , vital:41186
- Description: Thesis (MSc)--Rhodes University, Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Biggs, Rory
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: thesis , text , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/164941 , vital:41186
- Description: Thesis (MSc)--Rhodes University, Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A study of the selected wild edible plants utilized by indigenous people of the Amathole District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
- Kwinana-Mandindi, Thozama Ndileka
- Authors: Kwinana-Mandindi, Thozama Ndileka
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Wild plants, Edible http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85146686
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19598 , vital:43147
- Description: Wild edible plants are an indispensible part of diets in some of the poor resourced rural societies. In many less resourced households a main meal comprises of a starch staple which is accompanied by a supplement of vegetables that provide the other nutritional elements as well as flavour to the meals. The vegetable relish (isishebo) thus, becomes an important component of the diet. The sustenance of many such resource poor indigenous societies over many generations has been as a result of their reliance on a readily available supply of their nutritional requirements, where edible wild plants formed the major food source. Wild edible plants provided the most important source of nutritional supply even during times of drought and famine. However, lifestyle changes have caused a serious reduction of the gathering and use of the wild edible vegetables, knowledge about them and the local culture are also lost with them. Unfortunately, others have come to regard their traditional food resource base as primitive and inferior and have come to rely on new exotic food plant whose supply is unstable and narrow compared to the wide variety of wild edible plants. Even when drought challenges play destruction with food availability, resulting in food shortages due to the reliance on cultivated crops that are poorly adapted to local conditions, communities cannot go back to the unknown food plants. However, detailed scientific investigations are needed to understand and preserve wild food uses. This study was undertaken to add to that body of knowledge. It started with an ethnobotanic survey of the use of wild food plants in 10 selected rural villages and peri-urban dwellings in the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape. These rural areas were chosen because of the belief that there are still individuals who possess the wealth of traditional knowledge within those remote areas in addition to that the villages are surrounded by indigenous vegetation from which they could be harvesting some indigenous food plants. Furthermore, the relationship between people and plants are often clearer in indigenous/traditional societies since the link between production and consumption is more direct. Besides the survey, this research employed various methods including Inductively Coupled Argon (ICP) analyses of minerals and vitamins, determination of phytochemicals and antioxidant/bio-activity that of, higher performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of other vitamins, assessment of proximate and anti-nutrient compositions of raw and cooked samples of plants, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) to look into the micro-morphology of leaves for details that might have a bearing in the nutrient composition of the wild edible vegetables. This was done with the aim to explore and highlight the wild-food-plant base of indigenous people, to investigate the nutritional value of the selected frequently consumed wild vegetables and to recommend ways of educating people on the value of such plants and the need to promote their continued sustainable use as well as preservation of them for the benefit of people who cannot afford a continuous nutritious meal particularly among rural communities. Twenty-five (25) indigenous wild food plants which included leafy vegetables, nuts and fruits species were identified as being arbitrarily gathered and utilised as food, of which seven wild leafy vegetable species were often mentioned as common among the 15 dwellings surveyed and most frequently consumed by the respondents. Two additional plants were also frequently used as flavoring and in their raw state respectively. Wild edible vegetables were mainly eaten boiled as ‘laxa’, mixed with maize meal as ‘imifino’, fried as relish ‘isishebo’ or raw for both snacking purposes and medicinal functions. Wild edible plant species in the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape-South Africa were documented with respect to their uses and knowledge or identification. Four indigenous wild vegetables (Chenopodium album, Solanum nigrum/nodiflorum, Amaranthus dubius and Urtica lobulata) frequently consumed by the indigenous communities in the study region were selected. All the plant species had a remarkably high content of pro-anthocyanidins (between 58.42 and 65.18 mg/g) and also exhibited high radical scavenging activity in vitro. S. nigrum and C. album were found to be rich sources of ascorbic acid, having 1.05mg/100g and 1.01mg/100g, respectively. The entire wild, traditionally edible plants contain reasonably good concentrations of riboflavin while U. lobulata was found to contain maximum amount of thiamine. All plant species were rich sources of minerals and vitamins (both water soluble and fat soluble). Appropriate cooking methods are to be used to enhance the bio-availability of vitamins and nutrients in general. Cooking generally improved the nutritive value in certain wild vegetables. However, some nutrients were drained away. For example micro-nutrient and anti-nutrient component in the ash were reduced in cooking. The EDXS analysis has shown that the indigenous, wild vegetables in the Amathole District of South Africa are excellent sources of minerals, while the mineral crystals present at the level of the mesophyll of the indigenous wild vegetables were probably mixtures of calcium oxalate, calcium sulphate and silica. Saponin, tannins, oxalates, phytates and alkaloids are present in all the indigenous wild vegetables, but in minimal safe quantities. Nutritional analysis of some wild food plants demonstrates that in many cases the nutritional quality of the plants is comparable and in some cases even superior to domesticated exotic varieties. Knowledge about gathering and use of some wild food species is common among the rural dwellers. However, most uses are known by few elderly informants only. Education, awareness campaigns and revival of use of wild edible plants directed at the youth particularly is essential and this can be done through all forms of media. , Thesis (PhD) (Ethnobotany) -- University of Fort Hare, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Kwinana-Mandindi, Thozama Ndileka
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Wild plants, Edible http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85146686
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19598 , vital:43147
- Description: Wild edible plants are an indispensible part of diets in some of the poor resourced rural societies. In many less resourced households a main meal comprises of a starch staple which is accompanied by a supplement of vegetables that provide the other nutritional elements as well as flavour to the meals. The vegetable relish (isishebo) thus, becomes an important component of the diet. The sustenance of many such resource poor indigenous societies over many generations has been as a result of their reliance on a readily available supply of their nutritional requirements, where edible wild plants formed the major food source. Wild edible plants provided the most important source of nutritional supply even during times of drought and famine. However, lifestyle changes have caused a serious reduction of the gathering and use of the wild edible vegetables, knowledge about them and the local culture are also lost with them. Unfortunately, others have come to regard their traditional food resource base as primitive and inferior and have come to rely on new exotic food plant whose supply is unstable and narrow compared to the wide variety of wild edible plants. Even when drought challenges play destruction with food availability, resulting in food shortages due to the reliance on cultivated crops that are poorly adapted to local conditions, communities cannot go back to the unknown food plants. However, detailed scientific investigations are needed to understand and preserve wild food uses. This study was undertaken to add to that body of knowledge. It started with an ethnobotanic survey of the use of wild food plants in 10 selected rural villages and peri-urban dwellings in the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape. These rural areas were chosen because of the belief that there are still individuals who possess the wealth of traditional knowledge within those remote areas in addition to that the villages are surrounded by indigenous vegetation from which they could be harvesting some indigenous food plants. Furthermore, the relationship between people and plants are often clearer in indigenous/traditional societies since the link between production and consumption is more direct. Besides the survey, this research employed various methods including Inductively Coupled Argon (ICP) analyses of minerals and vitamins, determination of phytochemicals and antioxidant/bio-activity that of, higher performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination of other vitamins, assessment of proximate and anti-nutrient compositions of raw and cooked samples of plants, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) to look into the micro-morphology of leaves for details that might have a bearing in the nutrient composition of the wild edible vegetables. This was done with the aim to explore and highlight the wild-food-plant base of indigenous people, to investigate the nutritional value of the selected frequently consumed wild vegetables and to recommend ways of educating people on the value of such plants and the need to promote their continued sustainable use as well as preservation of them for the benefit of people who cannot afford a continuous nutritious meal particularly among rural communities. Twenty-five (25) indigenous wild food plants which included leafy vegetables, nuts and fruits species were identified as being arbitrarily gathered and utilised as food, of which seven wild leafy vegetable species were often mentioned as common among the 15 dwellings surveyed and most frequently consumed by the respondents. Two additional plants were also frequently used as flavoring and in their raw state respectively. Wild edible vegetables were mainly eaten boiled as ‘laxa’, mixed with maize meal as ‘imifino’, fried as relish ‘isishebo’ or raw for both snacking purposes and medicinal functions. Wild edible plant species in the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape-South Africa were documented with respect to their uses and knowledge or identification. Four indigenous wild vegetables (Chenopodium album, Solanum nigrum/nodiflorum, Amaranthus dubius and Urtica lobulata) frequently consumed by the indigenous communities in the study region were selected. All the plant species had a remarkably high content of pro-anthocyanidins (between 58.42 and 65.18 mg/g) and also exhibited high radical scavenging activity in vitro. S. nigrum and C. album were found to be rich sources of ascorbic acid, having 1.05mg/100g and 1.01mg/100g, respectively. The entire wild, traditionally edible plants contain reasonably good concentrations of riboflavin while U. lobulata was found to contain maximum amount of thiamine. All plant species were rich sources of minerals and vitamins (both water soluble and fat soluble). Appropriate cooking methods are to be used to enhance the bio-availability of vitamins and nutrients in general. Cooking generally improved the nutritive value in certain wild vegetables. However, some nutrients were drained away. For example micro-nutrient and anti-nutrient component in the ash were reduced in cooking. The EDXS analysis has shown that the indigenous, wild vegetables in the Amathole District of South Africa are excellent sources of minerals, while the mineral crystals present at the level of the mesophyll of the indigenous wild vegetables were probably mixtures of calcium oxalate, calcium sulphate and silica. Saponin, tannins, oxalates, phytates and alkaloids are present in all the indigenous wild vegetables, but in minimal safe quantities. Nutritional analysis of some wild food plants demonstrates that in many cases the nutritional quality of the plants is comparable and in some cases even superior to domesticated exotic varieties. Knowledge about gathering and use of some wild food species is common among the rural dwellers. However, most uses are known by few elderly informants only. Education, awareness campaigns and revival of use of wild edible plants directed at the youth particularly is essential and this can be done through all forms of media. , Thesis (PhD) (Ethnobotany) -- University of Fort Hare, 2012
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
A study on the morphology of thin copper films on para-aramid yarns and their influence on the yarn’s electro-conductive and mechanical properties
- Schwarz, Anne, Hakuzimana, Jean, Westbroek, Philippe, Mey, Gilbert De, Priniotakis, Georgios, Nyokong, Tebello, Langenhove, Lieva Van
- Authors: Schwarz, Anne , Hakuzimana, Jean , Westbroek, Philippe , Mey, Gilbert De , Priniotakis, Georgios , Nyokong, Tebello , Langenhove, Lieva Van
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243487 , vital:51157 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0040517511431291"
- Description: The latest technological advances in new materials and devices enabled wearable systems to be created by utilizing textile solutions. These solutions require electro-conductive yarns as a basic component. Although the production of electroconductive yarn is widely reported, research is still necessary to characterize them to advance their electro-conductive and mechanical properties. Hence, we served this need and characterized copper-coated para-aramid yarns produced by an in-house developed electroless deposition method. In this paper we present our investigation on the yarn’s copper layer characteristics after deposition. Furthermore, we looked, in depth, at the yarn’s electro-conductive properties before and after washing as well as their mechanical properties before and after copper deposition. We found a dependency of the copper layer morphology on its deposition time. This is directly correlated to the resulting layer thickness and hence to the yarn’s electro-conductive properties, demonstrating the autocatalytic nature of the coating process. Above that, the electro-conductive properties of the coated yarn linearly decrease with washing cycles. Furthermore, the copper coating impairs the yarn’s mechanical properties decreasing its specific stress at break by 30%.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Schwarz, Anne , Hakuzimana, Jean , Westbroek, Philippe , Mey, Gilbert De , Priniotakis, Georgios , Nyokong, Tebello , Langenhove, Lieva Van
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/243487 , vital:51157 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0040517511431291"
- Description: The latest technological advances in new materials and devices enabled wearable systems to be created by utilizing textile solutions. These solutions require electro-conductive yarns as a basic component. Although the production of electroconductive yarn is widely reported, research is still necessary to characterize them to advance their electro-conductive and mechanical properties. Hence, we served this need and characterized copper-coated para-aramid yarns produced by an in-house developed electroless deposition method. In this paper we present our investigation on the yarn’s copper layer characteristics after deposition. Furthermore, we looked, in depth, at the yarn’s electro-conductive properties before and after washing as well as their mechanical properties before and after copper deposition. We found a dependency of the copper layer morphology on its deposition time. This is directly correlated to the resulting layer thickness and hence to the yarn’s electro-conductive properties, demonstrating the autocatalytic nature of the coating process. Above that, the electro-conductive properties of the coated yarn linearly decrease with washing cycles. Furthermore, the copper coating impairs the yarn’s mechanical properties decreasing its specific stress at break by 30%.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
An Analysis and Implementation of Methods for High Speed Lexical Classification of Malicious URLs
- Egan, Shaun P, Irwin, Barry V W
- Authors: Egan, Shaun P , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429757 , vital:72637 , https://digifors.cs.up.ac.za/issa/2012/Proceedings/Research/58_ResearchInProgress.pdf
- Description: Several authors have put forward methods of using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to classify URLs as malicious or benign by using lexical features of those URLs. These methods have been compared to other methods of classification, such as blacklisting and spam filtering, and have been found to be as accurate. Early attempts proved to be as highly accurate. Fully featured classifications use lexical features as well as lookups to classify URLs and include (but are not limited to) blacklists, spam filters and reputation services. These classifiers are based on the Online Perceptron Model, using a single neuron as a linear combiner and used lexical features that rely on the presence (or lack thereof) of words belonging to a bag-of-words. Several obfuscation resistant features are also used to increase the positive classification rate of these perceptrons. Examples of these include URL length, number of directory traversals and length of arguments passed to the file within the URL. In this paper we describe how we implement the online perceptron model and methods that we used to try to increase the accuracy of this model through the use of hidden layers and training cost validation. We discuss our results in relation to those of other papers, as well as other analysis performed on the training data and the neural networks themselves to best understand why they are so effective. Also described will be the proposed model for developing these Neural Networks, how to implement them in the real world through the use of browser extensions, proxy plugins and spam filters for mail servers, and our current implementation. Finally, work that is still in progress will be described. This work includes other methods of increasing accuracy through the use of modern training techniques and testing in a real world environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Egan, Shaun P , Irwin, Barry V W
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/429757 , vital:72637 , https://digifors.cs.up.ac.za/issa/2012/Proceedings/Research/58_ResearchInProgress.pdf
- Description: Several authors have put forward methods of using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to classify URLs as malicious or benign by using lexical features of those URLs. These methods have been compared to other methods of classification, such as blacklisting and spam filtering, and have been found to be as accurate. Early attempts proved to be as highly accurate. Fully featured classifications use lexical features as well as lookups to classify URLs and include (but are not limited to) blacklists, spam filters and reputation services. These classifiers are based on the Online Perceptron Model, using a single neuron as a linear combiner and used lexical features that rely on the presence (or lack thereof) of words belonging to a bag-of-words. Several obfuscation resistant features are also used to increase the positive classification rate of these perceptrons. Examples of these include URL length, number of directory traversals and length of arguments passed to the file within the URL. In this paper we describe how we implement the online perceptron model and methods that we used to try to increase the accuracy of this model through the use of hidden layers and training cost validation. We discuss our results in relation to those of other papers, as well as other analysis performed on the training data and the neural networks themselves to best understand why they are so effective. Also described will be the proposed model for developing these Neural Networks, how to implement them in the real world through the use of browser extensions, proxy plugins and spam filters for mail servers, and our current implementation. Finally, work that is still in progress will be described. This work includes other methods of increasing accuracy through the use of modern training techniques and testing in a real world environment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012