Abstract:

Lurch is an open-source word processor that can check the steps in students’ mathematical proofs. Users write in a natural language, but mark portions of a document as meaningful, so the software can distinguish content for human readers from content it should analyze.

This talk begins with an overview of the most recent release of the system, the ways in which it impacts students’ learning of mathematical proofs, and how it needs to be improved in the future. I will then cover how we are making those improvements in the next version, which will lead naturally to an introduction of the Lurch Web Platform, a foundational set of tools that we will use to bring the project to the web.

That platform is available on GitHub for other mathematical software developers to use in their own projects. It includes a web editor with mathematical typesetting, an interface for marking up documents with mathematical (or other structured) meaning, OpenMath support, meaning visualization tools, and document dependence and sharing features, among others.

Speaker Bio:

Nathan Carter uses computer science to advance mathematics. He writes open source mathematics software for university mathematics education, in areas including mathematical logic and abstract algebra visualization. He is a past winner of the Mathematical Association of America’s Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member and his first book, Visual Group Theory, won the 2012 Beckenbach Book Prize from that same society. His second book, Introduction to the Mathematics of Computer Graphics, was published in 2016. His current book project will be an edited volume entitled Data Science for Mathematicians, intended to help mathematics faculty make the transition into teaching and doing research in the fast-growing field of data science.

Abstract:

“Why is my kid getting HD on their phone, while I’m stuck with SD on my 50″ TV?” This type of complaint is among the most common directed to streaming services such as Netflix and BBC. Recent studies observe that adaptive video streams, when competing behind a bottleneck link, generate flows that lead to instability, under-utilization, and unfairness. Additional measurements suggest there may also be a negative impact on users’ perceived quality of experience as a consequence. The intuitive response may be, and has been, that application-generated issues should be resolved by the application. In this presentation I shall demonstrate that fairness, by any definition, can only be solved in the network. Moreover, that in an increasingly HTTP-S world, some form of client interaction is required. In support, a new network-layer ‘QoE-fairness’ metric will be be introduced that reflects user experience. Experiments using our open-source implementation in the home environment reinforce the network-layer as the right place to attack the general problem.

Refs-

[1] http://dl.ifip.org/db/conf/networking/networking2015/1570066341.pdf
[2] https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2940144

Speaker Bio:
Marwan Fayed joined the University of St Andrews in 2018. He received his MA from Boston University and his PhD from the University of Ottawa, in 2003 and 2009 respectively, and in between worked at Microsoft as a member of the Core Reliability Group. In 2009 he joined the University of Stirling, UK as Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) Lecturer, alongside an appointment to ‘Theme Leader’ for networking research in Scotland, 2014-2016. His current research interests lie in wireless algorithms, as well as general network, transport, and measurement in next generation edge networks. He is a co-founder of HUBS C.i.C., an ISP focussed on rural communities, recipient of an IEEE best paper award, and a Senior Member of both the IEEE and ACM.

Title and Abstract TBD

Abstract:

Matthew Rice, Scotland Director for the Open Rights Group, the digital rights campaigning organisation, will lead a seminar discussing the role of civil society organisations in the discourse of technology, rights, regulation, and norms. Computer Scientists sit at an important point in this debate, as individuals affected by changes in norms, but more importantly as builders of the applications and the infrastructure that reflect these norms.

The seminar will discuss the impact civil society has on changing norms and laws around the world, and why these actors matter in the space between governments, companies, and wider society. It will introduce students to the Open Rights Group, the UK’s only technology and human rights grassroots campaigning organisation on t, and its current work in the area of technology and human rights.

Digital technology has transformed the way we live and opened up limitless new ways to communicate, connect, share and learn across the world. But for all the benefits, technological developments have created new threats to our human rights. The Open Rights Group raise awareness of these threats and challenge them through public campaigns, legal actions, policy interventions and tech projects.

Abstract:

It is widely recognised that the threat to enterprises from insider activities is increasing, and that significant costs are being incurred. Since insider threat and compromising actions can take a multitude of forms, there is a diverse experience and understanding of what insider threats are, and how to detect or prevent them. We investigate the potential for detection of insider threat activities within a large enterprise environment using monitoring tools centred around the information infrastructure. In this seminar we will review our experiences and lessons learnt from the implementation and trial of the Corporate Insider Threat Detection (CITD) tool in real organizations, not only from a technical perspective, but also from the legal and ethical aspects.

Speaker Bio:

Dr Arnau Erola is a cyber security expert with strong background in data analytics, machine learning, data mining and information privacy. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Cyber Analytics group of Oxford University, working on enterprise security, defence systems and better understanding the cyber-threat landscape. Dr Erola holds a Ph. D., M. Sc. and B.Sc. in Computer Science from the Rovira i Virgili University of Tarragona (URV). He is author of several international journal articles on online privacy, anonymity protocols and intrusion detection mechanisms.

Abstract TBD

Abstract:

The HUT Group have a variety of engineering, UX and data science teams solving real-world customer and logistics problems. This presentation looks at a variety of solutions applied across the business, from continuous release processes to warehouse layout approaches.

Speaker Bio:

Elliott graduated from CS at St Andrews in 2016, and now works within the research and development team at THG.

Abstract:

I will describe how the PRISM model checker was used to generate strategies for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), specifically to determine search strategies for a UAV trying to find objects within a grid, for a range of scenarios. Parameters and probabilities for our models were informed by simulation models developed in the School of Engineering’s Micro Air Systems Technologies (MAST) Laboratory. Our generated controllers can now be used within the simulation models (and ultimately in UAV controller software).

This is joint work with colleagues from the Schools of Computing Science (Gethin Norman, Ruth Hoffmann and Ruben Giaquinta) and the School of Engineering (Murray Ireland).

Speaker Bio:

Alice Miller is a Senior Lecturer in Computing Science at the University of Glasgow. She works in Formal Methods and Graph Theory, with a particular interest in Symmetry. Before working at Glasgow she worked at the Universities of Western Australia, East Anglia and Stirling.

Abstract:

The “Internet of Bodies” is turning into a popular catchphrase to
describe the next generation of the Internet of Things – the move from
a collection of everyday objects connected to the Internet and each
other to a scenario, where those devices are attached to, or
incorporated into, the human body with a view to collect and provide a
constant stream of information about an individuals’ health or bodily
functions. Those devices could be part of a medical treatment process
(like pace makers, cochlear implants, digital pills, etc.), medical
research or physical enhancement. The choices, as they say, are
endless, as are the potential reasons why individuals may decide to
use or subject their bodies to those devices.

This means that the Internet of Bodies raises much (and many of) of
the same privacy issues and concerns that we have already observed in
connection to the Internet of Things, multiplied by the power of n
because the majority of the data collected and processed will firmly
fall into the category of “sensitive personal data” that has long
received particular protection under EU data protection law. What
measures do we need to put in place to ensure that the established
principles of data minimization, purpose limitation and limited
retention are met? On what legal basis can we justify the collection
of this data in the first place? Where the data collection is based on
the individual’s consent, how can this consent be voluntary in
situations where the choice might be between a life-saving
intervention and a refusal to use IoB devices? What other pressures
– well known from the use of other IoT enabled devices (convenience,
cost-saving, etc.) might motivate an individual to consent to their
use? What further use might the medical establishment, including the
research and the insurance sector envisage for this type of data?
How do we ensure not just device (IT) security but the security of
the information collected?

This talk will look at the prima facie privacy and data protection
issues of “everyday cyborgs” while trying to stay clear – for now –
from some of the more apocalyptic scenarios currently bandied about in
the media. But even on that basis, the question must be asked: The
Internet of Bodies – What could possibly go wrong?

Speaker Bio:

Judith Rauhofer is a Lecturer in IT Law at the University of Edinburgh
and an Associate Director of the Centre for Studies of Intellectual
Property and Technology Law (SCRIPT).

Her research interests include the commercial and fundamental rights
aspects of online privacy and electronic surveillance, data
protection, information security and all areas of e-commerce and
internet law and policy. Judith is particularly interested in
exploring the tensions between privacy as an individual right and as a
common good.

Judith is qualified as a Rechtsanwalt in Germany and as a solicitor in
England and Wales. She has worked in legal practice for several years,
advising clients from the media and new media industries on aspects of
e-commerce, data protection and IT law.

Judith is the founding editor of the European Data Protection Law
Review and a member of the Executive Committee of the British and
Irish Law, Education and Technology Association (BILETA). She also
works closely with digital rights organisations as a member of the
Advisory Councils to the Open Rights Group (ORG) and the foundation
for information policy research (fipr).

Abstract:

Many students are looking to appropriate social networking sites, amongst them, Facebook, to enhance their learning experience. A growing body of literature reports on the motivation of students and staff to engage with Facebook as a learning platform as well as mapping such activities to pedagogy and curricula. This talk will look through some of the pitfalls of Facebook in HE. I will then present student opinions of the use of a Facebook strategy within higher education through the use of focus groups.

Speaker Bio:

Karen completed her BSc hons degree at St Andrews University in 2000. In the past 17 years she has had a varied carrier that has seen her at: The University of Leeds, The University of Huddersfield, NASA Ames in California, University College Cork, St Andrews University and Oxford University. She is now the Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching at the University of Dundee. In this role she focuses on the student experience for the students who are studying: Anatomy, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computing, Electronic Engineering, Forensic Anthropology, Mathematics and Physics.