Zayed University

About: Zayed University is a education organization based out in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Web service & Computer science. The organization has 1030 authors who have published 3346 publications receiving 42546 citations.

A Coarse-to-Fine Facial Landmark Detection Method Based on Self-attention Mechanism

Abstract: Facial landmark detection in the wild remains a challenging problem in computer vision. Deep learning-based methods currently play a leading role in solving this. However, these approaches generally focus on local feature learning and ignore global relationships. Therefore, in this study, a self-attention mechanism is introduced into facial landmark detection. Specifically, a coarse-to-fine facial landmark detection method is proposed that uses two stacked hourglasses as the backbone, with a new landmark-guided self-attention (LGSA) block inserted between them. The LGSA block learns the global relationships between different positions on the feature map and allows feature learning to focus on the locations of landmarks with the help of a landmark-specific attention map, which is generated in the first-stage hourglass model. A novel attentional consistency loss is also proposed to ensure the generation of an accurate landmark-specific attention map. A new channel transformation block is used as the building block of the hourglass model to improve the model's capacity. The coarse-to-fine strategy is adopted during and between phases to reduce complexity. Extensive experimental results on public datasets demonstrate the superiority of our proposed method against state-of-the-art models.

WhatsApp Network Forensics: Discovering the IP Addresses of Suspects

Abstract: Call record analysis is the most critical task for the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) in a cyber-investigation process. It provides valuable information in the investigation, such as time and date and the duration of incoming and outgoing calls. The technological advancement of smartphones and the versatility of Instant Messaging (IM) applications provide multiple communication channels to cybercriminals for communication, making it difficult for the LEAs to monitor/investigate using traditional forensics tools and techniques. The most challenging part is to retrieve specific information from the network traffic of a particular IM Application such as WhatsApp. This research article’s primary purpose is to find the IP address of the cybercriminal using WhatsApp through existing sniffing techniques and tools. A method called rule-based extraction for sniffing packets is proposed for extracting the most relevant data from the network traffic. The results support LEAs to identify the cybercriminals’ specific traffic and help in analyzing and comparing the mobile phone data with the network traffic.

A process model for implementing information systems security governance

Abstract: Purpose The frequent and increasingly potent cyber-attacks because of lack of an optimal mix of technical as well as non-technical IT controls has led to increased adoption of security governance controls by organizations The purpose of this paper, thus, is to construct and empirically validate an information security governance (ISG) process model through the plan–do–check–act (PDCA) cycle model of Deming Design/methodology/approach This descriptive research using an interpretive paradigm follows a qualitative methodology using expert interviews of five respondents working in the ISG domain in United Arab Emirates (UAE) to validate the theoretical model Findings The findings of this paper suggest the primacy of the PDCA Deming cycle for initiating ISG through a risk-based approach assisted by industry-wide best practices in ISG Regarding selection of ISG frameworks, respondents preferred to have ISO 27K supported by NIST as the core framework with other relevant ISG frameworks/standards forming the peripheral layer The implementation focus of the ISG model is on mapping ISO 27K/NIST IT controls relevant IT controls selected from ISG frameworks from a horizontal and vertical perspective Respondents asserted the automation of measurement and control mechanism through automation to assist in the feedback loop of the PDCA cycle Originality/value The validated model helps academics and practitioners gain insight into the methodology of the phased implementation of an information systems governance process through the PDCA model, as well as the positioning of ITG and ITG frameworks in ISG Practitioners can glean valuable insights from the empirical section of the research where experts detail the success factors, the sequential steps and justification of these factors in the ISG implementation process

Upshot of heterogeneous catalysis in a nanofluid flow over a rotating disk with slip effects and Entropy optimization analysis.

Abstract: The present study examines homogeneous (HOM)-heterogeneous (HET) reaction in magnetohydrodynamic flow through a porous media on the surface of a rotating disk. Preceding investigations mainly concentrated on the catalysis for the rotating disk; we modeled the impact of HET catalysis in a permeable media over a rotating disk with slip condition at the boundary. The HOM reaction is followed by isothermal cubic autocatalysis, however, the HET reactions occur on the surface governed by first-order kinetics. Additionally, entropy minimization analysis is also conducted for the envisioned mathematical model. The similarity transformations are employed to convert the envisaged model into a non-dimensional form. The system of the modeled problem with ordinary differential equations is analyzed numerically by using MATLAB built-in bvp4c function. The behavior of the emerging parameters versus the thermal, concentration, and velocity distributions are depicted graphically with requisite discussion abiding the thumb rules. It is learned that the rate of the surface catalyzed reaction is strengthened if the interfacial area of the permeable media is enhanced. Thus, a spongy medium can significantly curtail the reaction time. It is also noticed that the amplitude of velocity and thermal profile is maximum for the smallest value of the velocity slip parameter. Heat transfer rate declines for thermophoresis and the Brownian motion parameter with respect to the thermal slip parameter. The cogency of the developed model is also validated by making a comparison of the existing results with a published article under some constraints. Excellent harmony between the two results is noted.

Using argumentation to model and deploy agent-based B2B applications

Abstract: This paper presents an agent-based framework for modeling and deploying Business-to-Business (B2B) applications, where autonomous agents act on behalf of the individual components that form these applications. This framework consists of three levels identified by strategic, application, and resource, with focus in this paper on the first two levels. The strategic level is about the common vision that independent businesses define as part of their decision of partnership. The application level is about the business processes that get virtually combined as result of this common vision. As conflicts are bound to arise among the independent applications/agents, the framework uses a formal model based on computational argumentation theory through a persuasion protocol to detect and resolve these conflicts. In this protocol, agents reason about partial information using partial arguments, partial attack, and partial acceptability. Agents can then jointly find arguments that support a new solution for their conflicts, which is not known by any of them individually. Termination, soundness, and completeness properties of this protocol are provided. Distributed and centralized coordination strategies are also supported in this framework, which is illustrated with an online-purchasing example.