ENGINEERING LIBRARY BLOG

We used the mobile phones for calls, surf Internet, e-commerce, etc. It can also be used to collect data and information on a personal and daily basis. However, ther are more than four billion such devices used by people like us, how can we stay secure if we are releasing vital information on the mobile phones for data collection?

This article first looked at the problems in having personal data exposed to all mobile users. Then examines three applications used to collect these data called “Participatory sensing” technologies: Personal Environmental Impact Report (PEIR), Biketastic and AndWellness. Lastly, discuss how developers of the mobile phone applications can avoid or control private data from leaking to other users.

[Source: Four Billion Little Brothers? Privacy, mobile phones, and ubiquitous data collection by Katie Shilton. Communications of the acm, november 2009, vol. 52, no. 11, pp 48-53]

	Title:	Managing Technology Legal Issues Leading Lawyers on Transactions, Agreements, and Intellectual Property Management
	Publisher:	Aspatore Books
	Availability:	Click here

Although this title is written by and for lawyers on intellectual property issues, the writing is easy-to-understand and the bite-sized article format mean that any reader will be able to appreciate the strategies detailed. There is also a substantial appendix with sample agreements and checklists.

The authors expertise is mostly in U.S. and international law but the advice is universal, with some of the 12 articles offer sound and practical recommendations specially crafted for the technology industry. In an extract from Chapter 2: Top Ten Mistakes by Companies Regarding Intellectual Property, Randall Broberg lists these in descending order as:
10. Too many trademarks
9. Failure to consider the nature of your industry
8. Letting little company defend the big company
7. Sharing ownership of IP
6. Licensing trade secrets like they are patents
5. Failure to file trademarks in foreign countries before doing business there
4. Failure to plan for time after patents expire
3. Turning a blind eye to competitors IP
2. Failure to consider the need for speed
1. Failure to remember patents and trade secrets are in conflict

In the last point, Broberg describes aptly the conundrum that is at the heart of protection of intellectual property, which is its continual tension with disclosure and innovation. “If the code is truly a trade secret and cannot be reverse-engineered, filing a patent will reveal the secrets to the whole world …”  “In sum, the easier it is to reverse-engineer, making trade secrets ineffective, the more appropriate it is to patent a product. Looked at from the other side, if you can truly keep your technology secret you probably should, and either forgo patents altogether or seek patent protection only for aspects and parts of your technology that are easily capable of reverse-engineering.”

With the proliferation of wireless network, one area will become popular – real-time multimedia applications. The development of header compression technique will also bring improvement to the wireless access.

In this article, the authors described how a robust header compression (RoHC) can be used to reduce the overhead of IP-based traffic. And Voice over IP (VoIP) may replace the voice circuits in the future wirless network applications (IEEE 802.11 technology).

A simulation study of the RoHC’s U-mode performance when applied to VoIP in an 802.11 link is described.

[Source: HEADER COMPRESSED VOIP IN IEEE 802.11 by PEDRO FORTUNA AND MANUEL RICARDO. IEEE Wireless Communications, June 2009, Volume 16 (3), pp 69-75.]

Face recognition is getting popular and more researches have been done in this area. The theories of sparse representation and compressed sensing are some of the recent methods used, particularly in the area of computer vision.

In the article, the author discussed these methods and explained a researcher used them to demonstrate the improvements over the traditional face-recognition techniques. Two challenges are faced: how to use this method (algorithm) to run a database system of more than 1,000 subjects and  how to deal with less controlled training data such as photo tagging or image searching applciations.

[Source: Face Recognition Breakthrough by Kirk L. Kroeker. Communications of the ACM, Volume 52, No. 8, August 2009]

Free video lectures/courses streaming from world’s top scholars are available from the website: http://www.academicearth.org/. The website is divided into three sections: subjects, universities and instructors. Rating is given to each course feedback from the viewers. Features and top lectures/courses are listed prominently on the website. Search feature is also provided.

Subjects include:
Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, English, Entrepreneurship, History, Law, Mathematics, Medicine, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology and Religion.

Universities contribute from:
Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Yale

	Title:	Greasy rider : two dudes, one fry-oil-powered car, and a cross-country search for a greener future
	Author:	Melville, Greg
	Call number:	GE197.M531
	Avaibility:	Click here

Synopsis:
When a journalist and his old college buddy friend set out in a modified Mercedes, using recycled vegetable oil collected from restaurants unwanted grease refuse, to visit environmentally friendly sites across North America and along the way engage in some environmental auditing, it gives new meaning to the term ‘eco-tourism’. Although this travelogue is filled with funny anecdotes on the lighter side of environmental issues, it does not give any less heavy analytical information on environmental policy, issues like Al Gore’s carbon offsets, implementations of green environments at the solar-powered Google HQ and ultimately how each one of us can rise to the challenge and champion a sustainable greener future.

	Title:	The ICAO Journal
	Publisher:	International Civil Aviation Organisation
	Call number:	TL500.5.I15
	Availability:	Click here

Review:
The ICAO Journal is a publication by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations, which formulates civil aviation codes, techniques of international air navigation, it also fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
The objective of the Journal is to provide a concise account of the activities of the International Civil Aviation Organization and to feature additional information of interest to the international aeronautical world.
The journal covers the current developments and news in the aviation industry including safety, security, licensing, and airworthiness of aircraft, aircraft operations and many other issues pertaining to the aviation industry. The issues are often covered in-depth, with articles being written by researchers and industry experts.

	Title:	Methods and applications of linear models: regression and the analysis of variance
	Author:	Hocking, R. R. (Ronald R.)
	Call umber:	QA278.2.H685
	Availability:	Click here

Synopsis:

The ready availability of high-speed computers and statistical software encourages the analysis of ever larger and more complex problems while at the same time increasing the likelihood of improper usage. That is why it is increasingly important to educate end users in the correct interpretation of the methodologies involved. Now in its second edition, Methods and Applications of Linear Models: Regression and the Analysis of Variance seeks to more effectively address the analysis of such models through several important changes. Notable in this new edition:

• Fully updated and expanded text reflects the most recent developments in the AVE method
• Rearranged and reorganized discussions of application and theory enhance text’s effectiveness as a teaching tool
• More than 100 new exercises in the areas of regression and analysis of variance

As in the First Edition, the author presents a thorough treatment of the concepts and methods of linear model analysis, and illustrates them with various numerical and conceptual examples, using a data-based approach to development and analysis. Data sets, available on an FTP site, allow readers to apply analytical methods discussed in the book. [As taken from book cover]