How ASEAN can drive its digital economy – World Economic Forum
How ASEAN can drive its digital economy World Economic Forum
Month: June 2024
Security and privacy in IoT-based Smart Farming: a review
Abstract
The Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer a newbie; it has a long history of serving as the primary commercial growth driver. Every business nowadays has begun to rely on IoT technology for market operational excellence. Smart Farming has also adopted IoT technology and farmers utilize these technologies to monitor crop production, evaluate soil moisture content, and deploy drones to assist with operations like pesticide spraying. As more devices link to the Internet, the problems of safeguarding smart farming settings' cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities grow. Digitalization in agriculture is regarded as the fourth agricultural revolution, as evidenced by a wide range of available digital technologies and data applications. This paper describes a systematic literature review (SLR) on IoT security and privacy and domains in the agricultural industry. This SLR was summarized by studying the research papers published in reputable journals between January 2017 and July 2023. A total of 37 articles were carefully selected from 6 databases using a systematic method, quality assessment, and classification. The primary objective of this study is to consolidate all relevant studies on IoT-based Smart Farming (SF) applications domains, privacy/security, communication/Network protocols, and sensors/devices. It also highlighted the fundamental difficulties and how smart Farming works in different countries. Moreover, this review paper analyzes the security difficulties that IoT devices face in agriculture. Finally, open issues and challenges were discussed to give research with interesting future approaches in IoT agriculture.
Indigenous rights, social media and protest movements in Sápmi
Abstract
Following the rush to minerals that would enable the shift towards green economies, the Sámi homeland is quickly becoming a crucible for the rising tensions surrounding the potential for new mining projects and large-scale infrastructure projects. The roots of these conflicts date back to the colonization of the north and continue in the present with the ongoing fight to maintain the Sámi heritage, language and culture, and increasingly to gain ownership of their lands. What initially began as activism within the legal system has, on occasions, transformed into outright protests. Social media increasingly plays a key role in disseminating the message of Indigenous protest among the protesters themselves and feeding into the national and international mainstream media. This shift occurs simultaneously with the construction of a dual narrative, constituted of both land-use protest and intensified demands for Indigenous rights, including, first and foremost, the right to self-determination. Drawing from Social media theory literature and the concepts of political opportunity structures (POS) and legal opportunity structures (LOS), this study argues that social media is one of the most essential tools used by Sámi activists to raise awareness about issue-based protests as well as to communicate demands for the right to self-determination when legal and political opportunity structures are not enough to support the cause. The power of social media lies in its accessibility, immediacy and visuality, which is illustrated in the article via specific examples of mining and railway construction protests in Finland and Sweden. Social media does not replace older tools, such as international human rights litigation, but their use can complement existing strategies for defending and advancing Indigenous rights.
Interviews with researchers and practitioners who collaborate with Indigenous groups in the United States: Are climate change adaptation frameworks helpful?
Abstract
Indigenous groups in the United States are the highest at-risk group for climate change impacts due to a history of ongoing colonial disenfranchisement, displacement to high-risk locations, and a loss of traditional subsistence practices. In the last 14 years, four frameworks have emerged for guiding climate-based collaborations with Indigenous groups: The Guiding Principles on Climigration, Justice Forward, Human Rights, and WAMPUM, two of which were Indigenous-authored. However, no known studies have examined whether or how these frameworks are used in practice. This paper explores how researchers, practitioners, and Indigenous groups in the US are attempting to navigate complex, often unaligned, social forces integral to climate change adaptation through the application of collaborative frameworks. Using qualitative inductive analysis of interview data, themes emerge demonstrating the current approaches used in tribal engagement by NGOs, government agencies, and academic institutions. The results suggest principles for just collaboration: relationship building, Indigenous representation on projects, respecting tribal leadership, and providing tangible community benefits.
Evaluating Short-Range Forecasts of a 12 km Global Ensemble Prediction System and a 4 km Convection-Permitting Regional Ensemble Prediction System
Abstract
Information regarding the uncertainty associated with weather forecasts, particularly when they are related to a localized area at convective scales, can certainly play a crucial role in enhancing decision-making. In this study, we discuss and evaluate a short-range forecast (0–75 h) from of a regional ensemble prediction system (NEPS-R) running operationally at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF). NEPS-R operates at a convective scale (~ 4 km) with 11 perturbed ensemble members and a control run. We assess the performance of the NEPS-R in comparison to its coarser-resolution global counterpart (NEPS-G), which is also operational. NEPS-R relies on initial and boundary conditions provided by NEPS-G. The NEPS-G produces valuable forecast products and is capable of predicting weather patterns and events at a spatial resolution of 12 km. The objective of this study is to investigate areas where NEPS-R forecasts could add value to the short-range forecasts of NEPS-G. Verification is conducted for the period from 1st August to 30th September 2019, covering the summer monsoon over a domain encompassing India and its neighboring regions, using the same ensemble size (11 members). In addition to standard verification metrics, fraction skill scores, and potential economic values are used as the evaluation measures for the ensemble prediction systems (EPSs). Near-surface variables such as precipitation and zonal wind at 850 hPa (U850) are considered in this study. The results suggest that, in some cases, such as extreme precipitation, there is a benefit in using regional EPS forecast. State-of-the-art probabilistic measures indicate that the regional EPS has reduced under-dispersion in the case of precipitation compared to the global EPS. The global EPS tends to provide higher skill scores for U850 forecasts, whereas the regional EPS outperforms the global EPS for heavy precipitation events (> 65 mm/day). There are instances when the regional EPS can provide a useful forecast for cases, including moderate rainfall, and can add more value to the global EPS forecast products. The investigation of diurnal variations in precipitation forecasts reveals that although both models struggle to predict the correct timing, the time phase and peaks in precipitation in the convection-permitting regional model are closer to the observations.
Infrared thermography reveals weathering hotspots at the Požáry field laboratory
Abstract
Evaluating physical properties and mechanical parameters of rock slopes and their spatial variability is challenging, particularly at locations inaccessible for fieldwork. This obstacle can be bypassed by acquiring spatially-distributed field data indirectly. InfraRed Thermography (IRT) has emerged as a promising technology to statistically infer rock properties and inform slope stability models. Here, we explore the use of Cooling Rate Indices (CRIs) to quantify the thermal response of a granodiorite rock wall within the recently established Požáry Test Site in Czechia. We observe distinct cooling patterns across different segments of the wall, compatible with the different degrees of weathering evaluated in the laboratory and suggested by IRT observations of cored samples. Our findings support previous examinations of the efficacy of this method and unveil correlations between cooling phases in the field and in the laboratory. We discuss the scale-dependency of the Informative Time Window (ITW) of the CRIs, noting that it may serve as a reference for conducting systematic IRT field surveys. We contend that our approach not only represents a viable and scientifically robust strategy for characterising rock slopes but also holds the potential for identifying unstable areas.