Humanity Research in S.T.E.A.M.

HUMANITY RESEARCH in S.T.E.A.M. (Volume 1, Issue 1, 2022)

Publisher: Toronto Education Press Ltd., Canada

Editor in Chief： Erwin Sniedzins

Address: 2300 Yonge Street, Suite 1600: Toronto, ON M4P 1E4

Website: www.torontoeducationpress.com

Email: tep4services@gmail.com

Language: English

Folio: 8.5 inches by 11 inches

Frequency: Quarterly Editorial Board

Erwin Sniedzins Editor, Toronto Education Press, Canada

Karim Mirshahi University of Guelph, Canada

Thomas Pepper Ryerson University, Canada

Flora Yan George Brown College, Hebei Normal University

Julia Galinsky York University, Canada

Sabrina Gomez Vila Ryerson University, Canada

Copyrights

ISSN 2816 8313 (Print)

ISSN 2816 8321 (Online)

Dr. Nina Oukhina

Improving

Erwin

Valeria Muir,

Julia Galinsky

Gauguin:

Security,

Muir

Education and Technology in Linguistic Studies

Improving Learning Efficiency By using Technology in Teaching English

Dr. Nina Oukhina

The introduction of eLearning technology enables teachers to create a more humanistic engagement approach to student participation. We look at the emergence of developing a technology knowledge generator engine that allows students to engage with any content they need to learn independently of grade levels.

Developing a Knowledge Generator (K.G.) as an education application software system must include many interactive learning technologies, dozens of learning templates from one side, and a dynamic real time possibility from another. Dynamic real time means that a student can write or copy and paste any content into the application to create microself learning exercises and microself-tests to validate a student's knowledge acquisition. It allows the K.G. to automatically organize different scenarios to help students learn more effectively depending on their needs and learning abilities.

Therefore, integrated learning application techniques are essential to estimate the learning effectiveness of the knowledge generating software. It helps build a more robust interactive learning system that utilizes real-time principles to improve the learning process by 32.3% while reducing learning times by 20% or more, generating an Information Into Knowledge (iiK) comprehension rate of 80% or greater.

The learning/teaching industry actively discussed the need to assess the effectiveness of multimodal learning software, and applied learning techniques are actively discussed in the learning/teachingindustry.However,themodelestimatesarehighlyvaried: some focusedonly on a qualitative assessment of the effectiveness; others included a quantitative evaluation. The most famous model of learning effectiveness was presented by Donald Kirkpatrick (K.M.) in 1959. American researchers proposed a four-tiered model of evaluation of the effectiveness of training, which is widespread and is now a classic. It is part of Kirkpatrick's learning and

training evaluation theory (initially published in 1994). His approach is mainly used to estimate corporation training from his Training Evaluation That Delivers Measurable Business Results from May 24, 2011.

The first level is "The reactive engagement of the participants " This level aims at revealing the fact of whether the participant is learning. To assess the learning level, usually, standardized questionnaires are used the main topic of the questions centre around real life work, knowledge and skills The program algorithm assesses the complexity and the responses of the learning material. It is the level that is measured most often. Many teaching companies have implemented this practice using questionnaires and providing automatic testimonial outputs.

The second level determines how the participants' knowledge changed due to training and whether they have changed. Specially designed tests, questionnaires and tasks allow you to quantify progress in the competence or motivation of the participants

The third level is "Application." Reveals whether participants apply the acquired knowledge and skills in the real life or workplace? Is there any real change in their work? This level is assessed with instruments designed on the "360 degrees" principle to study changes in working behaviour due to the training events. It relates to student skill changing or skills improvement process.

The fourth level is the "Results." It aims to identify changes in the typical performance of students as a result of training. This level is usually the most difficult to measure, especially considering that other factors influence student life/study performance, and isolating their impact is almost impossible.

K.M. uses final learning results ( student score) to estimate learning efficiency. K.M. as technology does not connect learning system properties parameters and student score as learning efficiency.

Therefore, it is impossible to estimate effective ways/opportunities for system improvements and compare the efficiency of different learning systems. If a model can't measure dependencies between learning system parameters and learning efficiency, no information about the tendency of learning system evaluation is certain.

Thus, the model D. Kirkpatrick provided, despite the simplicity and ease of use, suffers a high degree of subjectivity and does not provide quantitative indicators of learning effectiveness. In 1991, another American John Phillips added a fifth level of the Kirkpatrick evaluation model training return on investment (R.O.I.).

Thereis anotherfamous educational evaluationmodel; It's Bloom's Taxonomy. It consists ofthree parts the overlapping spheres, often called Zoon (knowledge, attitudes, and skills).

This model is difficult to formalize like the previous model because it measures the learning outcomes rather than the process itself. It can not specify ways to improve the learning approach. It can just evaluate the current practice's result in a single process or specific situation.

The Scientific Technologies Objectives in Effective Learning Methods

The objective was to determine the Knowledge Generator application effectiveness in the information into knowledge transformation and improve efficiency by at least 32% for the end user. The learning system can be regarded as triads that can be labelled as subsystem components:

Each learning system includes three major parts:

1. Learning software (Knowledge Generator), (L.S.)

2. Learning content (Structural Learning Content (S.L.C.) and Real time automatically Generated Learning Content (R.L.C.)

3. Learning techniques (L.T.) and (Visualization via Syntality)

The development presents an advantage to learning efficiency technology by bringing additional interactive methods to connect learning system properties/parameters to final student results and use it as a formal approach to measure efficiency for different learning systems and procedures.

Knowledge Generator eLearning technology has unique selection abilities to interact with any digital content in dynamic real time on or offline:

1. Learning content any textual info, teacher lesson content, newspaper, etc.

2. Interactive Templates any content can be presented in real time in one or up to 60

learning templates

3. Learning techniques can be selected from the list, including Syntality, Gaming environment, Multiple choice, test mode, Visualization, etc.

Learning Efficiency (LE) = ƒ(LC,LS,LT), LC, LS and LT are independent variables

Research Definition Development Problem was to find dependencies between Learning Efficiency as Student Scores and Learning System Parameters.

Enable L.C. to be obtained from any digital source for student learning in Dynamic real time by 'copy and paste' any content as shown.

Author Note

Dr. Nina Oukkhina graduated from the St. Petersburg State Marine Technical University with a philosophy degree in mathematics. Before migrating to Canada, she was a Professor at the State Marine Technical University, Computer Science Department. Her main research interests are learning efficiencies in education, gamification, blockchain technology and student engagement.

Decentralized and Personalize Education Recognition and Reward

Prof. Erwin Sniedzins

Abstract

In 143 BC, when the Shishi School in Chengdu, China, was founded by the Han Dynasty Provincial Governor, followed by monasteries and the first universities (Karueein 859AD, Bologna 1088, Oxford 1096, Harvard 1636), the Sages and Educators dissipated what they deemed appropriate for their students an instructivism approach. Today, 1.4 billion students listen to 68.9 million instructivist teachers, with 483 million dropping out or not passing. An instructivist teacher stands in front of the class and gives information to the students, while a 'constructivist teacher supports students in finding their answers to questions.

The Problem:

The World Bank predicts that 600 million people will lose their jobs by 2032. On top of this, there are 463 million people unemployed today. Big Data is inundating Educators, Students, Employers and Employees, causing stress, frustration, and lack of confidence in Data or Information into Knowledge (iiK) acquisition. More than 3.8 billion people are seeking relief from 3.4 Exabytes of daily data bombardment. Dramatic educational changes will reduce traditional teachers and university degree programs with blockchain, artificial intelligence (A.I.), gamification, machine learning (ML), knowledge acquisition validation, and token rewards.

Solution:

There are nine significant steps to dramatically transfer education from the dark ages into the 22nd century. It starts with a 'constructivism' approach to information engagement. Students have a vast array of channels and devices available to them, which gives them independence in acquiring knowledge.

1. Genetic Artificial Neural Network (G.A.N.N.) and Machine Learning provide a Bridge and filtration solution between exabytes of data and kilobytes of personalized data for Knowledge

Acquisition(K.A.).Despiteallofthisdata,astudentcanonlyreadonepageatatime.Teachers are the bridge between learning a textbook and assigning specific content to study. A.I. and ML will gradually replace the instructivist teacher since the global education system is very structured in S.T.E.M. subjects. [Science Technology Engineering Math]

2. A.I. can take any textual content and automatically create dynamic real time (D.R.T.), microSelf Learning (M.S.L.), and Self Testing exercises with the interactive engagement of the content to learn, providing scores and marks for the lifetime of the learner.

3. The A.I. will automatically personalize the gamification of any educational content for student engagement in D.R.T. What is Gamification? "It's the ability to create an interactive learning environment that motivates a learner to engage with the subject matter presented." In this process, a teacher is an option, not a requirement. Students' content that they need to learn appears as a game. The student enjoys playing the game and getting scores and marks. When satisfied with their scores andmarks,theymoveonto thenext exercise. When educators tested the students on the subject material they interacted with, they all got over 80%. In the educational network, students can also play against each other to determine who can get the best marks in the shortest time or as a team against another team to make it more competitive.

4. Replacement of teachers with each student getting their own personal, educational Avatar for life. In a classroom size of 25 to 30 students, the traditional teacher delivers a 'one size fits all' content lesson plan with some explanations in a fifty minute session on what may be challenging. The advent of A.I. and ML makes it possible to create a personalized teaching Avatar for each student. An Avatar can be an alter ego of yourself or a character that can represent a teacher or tutor to help the person learn better, faster and easier.

5. The embodiment of the Avatar represents 19,000 hours of studies from Kindergarten (K) to a college degree (B.A.). The Ministry of Education has outlined structured content students need to know to pass from one grade to the next. The A.I. Avatar automatically turns the structured content into dynamic, personalized gamification microSelf Learning exercises and microSelf Tests

6. Blockchain education validates a learner's interaction of ANY content, vocabulary, scores, marks, reports for life, as well as any courses, articles read, conferences, and workshops attended

7. The monetization of a learner's knowledge is validated by its Avatar. It uses the results from microTesting and awards the learner with badges, tokens, fiat currency or cryptocurrency

8. Replacement of B.A. degreed universities with International standards of validated user knowledge that corporations can assess directly from the potential employee for specific jobs skills needed.

9. A global 19,000 hours of the content delivery system via a worldwide Starlink satellite system creating an international educational standard for all students and teachers as shown with Mount Knowledge.

Virus quarantines and bullying is producing a pandemic of virtual eLearning utilizing A.I. Personalize Gamification and educational blockchain monetization in D.R.T.). Without D.R.T., it would not be possible to meet the information into knowledge acquisition automatically

The Application

1. An application called the Knowledge Generator (K.G.) is a Real Time Self Learning Intelligent elearning System (Tools) that provides: an all in one" subject learning, training, testing, software & courseware system that enables people to learn any subject or English up

to 300% faster, creating over 100,000 exercises and tests from the same content with a click of a button.

The application looks at what a student knows and doesn't know, automatically creates exercises tests and gives the student a mark all in real time

2. The K.G. creation provides connectivity, communication, collaboration and content or "4Cs" in the e learning industry. These 4Cs are used in the business management industry and applied to the learning industry as:

Connectivity, Communication, Collaboration and Content =4Cs and stem from:

Natural language processing, Linguistic intelligence,

Real time content generating engine, Accelerated learning techniques and Visualization, Personalization, Personification and impersonation

Definitions:

Personification is when you assign the qualities of a person to something that isn't human or, in some cases, to something that isn't even alive such as an Avatar. There are many reasons for using personification. It can describe something so others can understand or emphasize a point. It is a commonly favoured literary tool, and you may use personification without even knowing it.

Impersonation - pretending to be another person and being presented as a learner "Avatar "

K.G. Tactics blending learning by cloud computing.

K.G. Strategy: This is to provide the 1 Billion students with interactive, personalized elearning tools that will enable them to handle content up to 300% faster in real time and

develop a confidence level of up to 80% that they know the information that they have engaged.

Content Development.

K.G. can accept any textual learning content, including teacher lessons in a S.C.O.R.M. (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) format, news, a favourite topic, e books, curriculum, or "any textual info." Natural language processing procedures enable the extraction of valuable and functional data from textual information to use in the learning process, such as keywords, grammar patterns for each sentence, part of speech and tenses, main characters,and internal and external links. Thedatais appliedto create real timelearning activities, exercises and tests, including exercise generation.

Content Management and Personalization or Intelligent Interactive Content Creating Engine Definition: Interactive Content

1. Computer program, device, game, etc., that (in response to a user's action or request) presents choices (paths) depending on where in the program the user initiated the action. By following different decisions, the user can control or change the device's activity or the outcome of a game or program. In many ways, the web is the world's most interactive 'device.'

2. Live presentation in which the audience can participate.

It is a multiple choice question for content developers:

How big does information need to be to create one multiple choice question?

Answers: 1 sentence 1 paragraph 1 page 1 chapter

-

1 book

Many books

Long life knowledge of one teacher

Scientist knowledge

Knowledge collection as the encyclopedia

The Internet

What is the cost of creating multiple questions?

It is about $54,000 per animation hour

The Engine has the privilege to use all the above to create learning content. K.G. engine can generate learning exercises and interactive learning content using large amounts of information from any database, including e books and e learning content. For student personification learning programs, the K.G. engine can generate interactive content online right in front of each student, accordant to the student's personal needs and requests.

3. Hybrid exercises

TheHybridexercisescombinedormantorstatictextualcontentwiththestudent'srequirements and learning style of the student whereby it will automatically generate exercises that create

learning opportunities for the student and special privileges to fit the learner's style.

The Hybrid develops a new interactive exercise that looks at the other side of the personalization learning process.

It is not just reading; it is

1. Text to Visual Reading with pictures

2. Text to speech Audio Reading

3. Grammar patterns Reading with grammar structures

4. Comprehension test as Reading by multiple choice

5. Reading with vocabulary learning, translations and memory techniques.

6. Reading with keywords

4. Content Development Learning Efficiency personalization

The K.G. will immediately and automatically estimate learning content by:

1. Number of unique words in content; mostly frequent common words, slang and entity, etc.

2. Estimate each page, chapter, etc by sentence structure complexity

3. Main Subject, Main Character, relationship and dependences in text from a comprehension point of view.

And then make interactive content for each student individually that depends on the student's current knowledge, conditions, abilities, desire, etc. The K.G. can simultaneously adapt learning content to a student's need to learn a language, subject, terms, culture, manners, environment, etc

For example, The Society of Mining Engineers (S.M.E.) 2 Volumes, Mining Engineering Handbook (2nd Ed) contains 2260 pages and 627,000 words.

If you were to read and learn this book as a University Mining course student, how long would it take a student to get a school mark of 70% or 80% in the course?

There is a lot of factor in answering this question. To help a student, the K.G. can analyze the content automatically and lay out a pathway for the student to learn this content faster and easier than traditional learning methods as follows:

The S.M.E. Mining Hand Books contain the following unique word frequency and

distribution:

1967 words cover 50% of the book text;

3077 words cover 80% of the book text; 6268 words cover 90% of the book text; 10393 words cover 94.8% of the book text; 13767 words cover 97.3% of the book text; 19715 words cover 100% of the book text;

The book contains the following tenses:

30% simple present; 57% simple past; 10% present and past passive voice 3% present and past continues

Thepreparation to pass this Miningengineeringcourse, combined with an E.S.L. course, can be automatically created to reduce learning time 3 5 times.

The student has got the privilege to learn English more directed and efficient:

For example, to learn grammar using sentences from the subject book, directed vocabulary learning. And also an opportunity to get an endless number of generated exercises for practice.

5. Shared personification Learning techniques

1. Select ROLE

Teacher student listener Prompter Manager Ruler Explanation maker

2. Select Support team

Classmates nobody All Audience online Parents

3. Select type of activity

Multiple choice Text Movie Image Questions Classificatory

4. Select Knowledge bank

Encyclopedia Dictionary Classical Literature

Subject text books

5. Select Subject and level

Geography History Language

Start Learning

6. Shared environment and wide range of collaboration (blending)

A 24/7 time available access to the Learning Management System that provides:

Any reports of student achievement in real time;

Average statistical data;

Student opinions and solutions in creating a students' knowledge database access to an extensive collection of info such as e books, dictionaries, libraries, etc. Student forums and chatting, support teams, awards, point system, etc.

Author Note Biography

Prof. Erwin Sniedzins is the President of Mount Knowledge Inc., E.Z. Affordable Home Solutions, Toronto Education Press, patented inventor, Honourary Professor, keynote speaker, a bestselling author with twelve published books, an award winning movie producer, Mount. Everest expedition leader and climber, and traveller to 108 countries. You can follow him on Twitter and Linkedin

Humanity Health and Pain Treatment

How to Apply Neurological Changes Following Application of Sensorimotor Treatment Protocols

Dr. Allan Oolo Austin, Dr. Valeria Muir, Rannama Lagrmt., MA, RTP

Summary Abstract:

This paper represents a study into the neurological effects of the pain treatment system using the Trigenics Myoneural Strengthening Procedure (T.S.). Multiple measurements of neurological function were conducted on the soleus as the primary mover and the tibialis anterior as its antagonist. The results were as follows:

• Increased muscle contractile power through an increased number of motor units recruited and activated by way of increased Hmax / Mmax ratio value.

• Significant increase in maximal voluntary contraction force (MVC) and peak contraction force (P.T.) of the primary mover for considerable strength increase.

• Increased speed of movement by way of decreased contraction time (C.T.).

• Less electrical activity is needed tomaintainisometriccontraction force. Itmeans that muscle tone (gamma bias) for structural support is maintained more efficiently, and movement will also occur more efficiently and with less stress.

• Possible reduction of injury risk by way of reduction of presynaptic inhibition (P.S.I.).

The present study investigated the neurological effect of using the Trigenics sensorimotor treatment system. A case of Achilles tendonitis was used with Trigenics applied to the affected tendon and the soleus muscle. A recent pilot study using 40 subjects found that the Trigenics myoneural strengthening procedure (T.S.) to inhibited weak muscles measurably increased strength from 20 70% (mean average 37%). This study was also designed to investigate how this might occur.

Trigenics is a neuromanual sensorimotor assessment and treatment system that uses an interactivemultimodalapproach.Trigenicsisdistinctlydifferent fromothermanualtreatments in that it is primarily based on a neurological rather than a mechanical treatment model Trigenics myoneural procedures involve the synergistic, simultaneous application of 3 treatment techniques/modalities to achieve a summative neurological effect.

These are:

1) Reflex Neurology

2) Mechanoreceptor Manipulation (deformation)

3) Cerebropulmonary Biofeedback

Its primary mode of action works based on integrating neurological convergence projection and amplitude summation from both segmental (PNS) and suprasegmental (C.N.S.) pathways. The multimodal stimulation approach utilized in Trigenics is consistent with the principles of neuroplasticity and enhanced corticoneural reorganization of the somatosensory and sensorimotor systems.

The synergistic application has demonstrated that it can instantaneously relax, strengthen and/or lengthen muscles, and reduce inflammation and pain. It is expected that restoration of sensorimotor afferentation to the affected area will enable proper joint neurokinetic with the effect of associated pain reduction. It is known that restoring the normal length tension relationship will affect E.M.G. and reflex patterns.

Surfaceelectromyography(E.M.G.)hasalongtradition,andbroadapplications,formeasuring

muscular activity (Hagg 1992). In studies of occupational musculoskeletal disorders, E.M.G. has been used to obtain quantitative measures of physical exposure. E.M.G. reflects the internal loadandis thusdependent onboth theexternal load,impliedbythetask andindividual factors.

The surface electromyogram (E.M.G.) provided an enticing way to examine the role of the C.N.S. In this study, the main reason for using the E.M.G. was to investigate the agonist antagonist relationship during isometric contraction at a low intensity level. The mean frequency (M.F.) of the power spectrum presents the changes in (1) muscle fibre conduction velocity (Stulen and De Luca 1981) and (2) synchronization of the M.U. firing (Bigland Ritchie et al 1981). A popular opinion is that M.F. shifts are caused by a decrease in the membrane conduction velocity occurring during the fatiguing process due to local metabolic changes and ion shifts in the muscles (Brody et al. 1991). At or below 30% MVC, when blood flow is likely maintained, M.F. shifts are primarily due to neural changes (Löscher et al. 1994).

The H reflex technique evaluated the motoneuron excitability of triceps surae muscles. The soleus H reflex has been shown to be a monosynaptic reflex elicited by electrical stimulation of Ia afferents in the posterior tibial nerve (Magladery and McDougal 1950). The size of the reflex is thus a measure of the central gain of the monosynaptic stretch reflex, and it is determined by:

1. The transmission across the synapses of the Ia afferents and

2. The excitability of the motoneuronal pool.

Changes in the reflex size during various voluntary tasks express the short term changes in these two parameters. In particular, we have measured the maximal reflex electromyographic (E.M.G.) response (H-max) and the maximal direct E.M.G. response (Mmax) to determine the ratio between the two (H/M response). It is considered a suitable value for illustrating, within a pool, the efficacy of type Ia alphamotoneuron synapses (Schieppati 1987).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Subject

A 25 year old female elite sprint runner height 168 cm; weight 58 kg. Achilles tendonitis was diagnosed one month before her original presentation.

Protocol

Before treatment, the active plantar flexion and dorsiflexion with a straight leg were measured using a standard goniometer. After that, the subjects were seated in a specially designed dynamometric chair with the involved leg flexed to 90

at the knee angle. The foot was strapped to an aluminum footplate, and the ankle was dorsiflexed to 20

A strain gauge transducer connected with the footplate sensed the torque acting on the footplate. The plantar flexors strength (maximum voluntary contraction force MVC) was measured using the dynamometer connected with the footplate. After another break, the H reflex (Hmax) and maximum M wave (Mmax) were elicited. After that, the subject continued with the sustained isometric contractions of 20% of MVC for 60 sec to determine E.M.G. activity. After initial measurements recording, the Trigenics strengthening treatment protocol was carried out within 15 min. The same measuring protocol was repeated after Trigenics treatment.

To determine the H reflex and M wave the posterior tibial nerve was stimulated through a pair of surface carbon rubber electrodes by square wave pulses of 1 ms duration. The cathode was placed over the tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa, and the anode was placed under the posterior medial side of the thigh. The evoked compound action potential (M max) and H reflex (H max) of the soleus muscle were recorded using bipolar electromyography (E.M.G.) electrodes. The following static contraction E.M.G. activities were recorded from the soleus muscle as the primary mover and the tibialis anterior as the antagonist's muscle during voluntary and reflex contractions using bipolar Beckman miniature skin electrodes. The skin was dry shaved and then cleaned with alcohol. A reference electrode was placed over the medial condyle of the tibia. The E.M.G. signals were amplified and displayed with Medicor

MG 440 preamplifiers with a frequency band ranging from 1 Hz 1 kHz.

The output signals from the strain gauge transducer and E.M.G. preamplifiers were digitized online (sampling frequency 1 kHz) by an analogue to digital converter installed in a personal computer. The digitized signals were stored on a hard disk for further analysis.

RESULTS

The main pain results are presented in Table 1.

Before Trigenics

After Trigenics

Plantar flexion (º) 68 77

Dorsal flexion (º) 10 12

MVC (kg) 104 111 H max (mV) 1,7 2,3

M max (mV) 6,2 5,4

H/M (m/V) 0,27 0,43

PT (N) 175 183

CT (s) 0.083 0,075

IEMG soleus 0,0125 0,0066

IEMG tbialis anterior 0,0026 0,0018

MF soleus (Hz) 95,2 87,3

MF tibialis anterior (Hz) 72,3 58,4

Table 1

Discussion

To minimize the pain, two Trigenics treatments were given before the experimental session. After five days and two prior Trigenics treatments, the subject had no pain, and she was ready to participate in the experiment.

As seen in the chart, the results of this study showed a significant increase in maximal voluntary contraction force (MVC) with electrically evoked contraction peak force (P.T.) of plantarflexor muscles after the Trigenics treatment. The increase in MVC may involve

processes associated with a central command of contraction (Bigland Richie et al. 1986) as well as peripheral processes of intramuscular electrical and mechanical activity (Brody et al. 1991). The ability to generate force for strength increase can also be related to neural factors (muscle activation) associated with the motor unit's excitation, recruitment and firing rate. The increaseofP.T. afterTrigenicstreatment shows the changes onan intramuscularlevel, bearing in mind that a direct relationship exists between the number of active cross bridges and the forceoutput as well as the activemusclestiffness (MetzgerandMoss 1990). Also,thedecrease in contraction time (C.T.) after Trigenics treatment showed the improvement of the intramuscular processes, indicating more rapid calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Several authors have reported the synchronization of M.U.s (Bigland Ritchie et al. 1981). They have been shown to increase spectral components in the low frequency range of the E.M.G. power spectrum (Hagg 1992). A tendency towards synchronization reflects a common presynaptic input to α motoneurons (Farmer et al. 1997). After the Trigenics treatment, the average M.F. of plantarflexors and dorsiflexors shifted to a lower value representing increased synchronization of M.U.s or decreased muscle fibre conduction velocity. The average I.E.M.G. of plantarflexors and dorsiflexors also shifted to a lower value after the Trigenics treatment.

The increase in E.M.G. amplitude during sustained submaximal contractions (I.E.M.G.) has been explained by: (1) facilitated motor unit recruitment (Moritani et al. 1986), coupled with an increase in their average firing frequency in order to maintain the constant force requested (Maton and Gamet 1989) and (2) synchronization of motor unit (MU.) firing (Krogh Lund andJorgensen1993).AfterTrigenics,itseemsthatlessM.U.recruitmentis neededtomaintain the same force level. Also, the antagonist activity decreases, which means less presynaptic inhibition to the plantarflexor (target) muscle. In the present study, the E.M.G. parameters showed that, after Trigenics treatment, less electrical activity is needed for a muscle to maintain the same level of isometric contraction force. This means that muscle "tone" for structural support is maintained more efficiently, and movement will also occur more efficiently with less stress.

Electrical stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve in the popliteal fossa at various intensities

evokes two electromyography responses in the soleus muscle: the M and the H wave. Whereas the M wave is due to direct activation of the axons of the soleus α motoneuron pool, the H wave is the reflex discharge of the same pool in response to the orthodromic afferent volley travelling in the large diameter Ia fibres originating in the muscle spindles. The maximal H reflex (Hmax) is elicited by submaximal nerve stimulation and is mainly due to the activation of the slow twitch motor units (Calancie and Bawa 1990). The maximal M wave (Mmax) is elicited by supramaximal nerve stimulation and is the electrical counterpart of the activation of all motor units of the pool, including the fast twitch units.

The Hmax-to Mmax ratio is considered a suitable index for illustrating the level of reflex excitability of the motor pool, which in turn is dependent on the facilitationof the transmission between the Ia fibres and the α motoneuron (Schieppati 1987). The Hmax/Mmax increases after endurance type training (Pérote et al. 1991), indicating an association between endurance and the capacity to recruit a large proportion of the whole motor pool in response to the electrically elicited Ia afferent volley.

Our result shows that the efficacy of the reflex transmission between Ia spindle afferent input and soleus α MN, as witnessed by the Hmax/Mmax, was increased after the Trigenics treatment. This, in turn, shows an increased number of M.N.s excited and activated following Trigenics by way of an electrically evoked Ia afferent volley. The processes of altering afferent input and efferent output have been coined "resafferentation" and "resefferentation" by the originator of the Trigenics treatment system, Dr. Allan Oolo Austin. (Oolo Austin, Trigenics Theory, 2004).

His concept is that a relative state of "dysafferentation" (Seaman/Winterstein, J.M.P.T., 2004) develops in mechanoreceptors embedded in tissues that have become damaged or stressed and that these mechanoreceptors require "resetting" though multi pathway stimulation. (Oolo Austin hypothesizes that this is what occurs with Trigenics multimodal approach and draws an analogy to the "resetting" of a computer when it malfunctions by way of "freezing.”) In terms of performance augmentation for athletes, this would indicate that Trigenics treatments applied immediately prior to participation to specific muscles used in different sports would increase performance and outcome.

Due to the direct synaptic connection of Ia afferents and alpha motoneurons, it has been tempting for researchers to assume that the H reflex represents the excitability of the motoneuron pool understudy faithfully. However, the synaptic connection between Ia afferents and alphamotoneurons are themselves subject to modification. It is sensitive to mechanisms that cause changes in the presynaptic inhibition (P.S.I.) of Ia afferent transmission and directly affect neurotransmitter release at the Ia/alpha motoneuron synapse (Brooke et al., 1997). The primary reason for this is the effect of presynaptic inhibition. P.S.I. is mediated by the inhibitory interneuron acting on the Ia afferent terminals, leading to a reduction in neurotransmitter release and a concomitant reduction in motoneuron depolarization induced by Ia activity. There is evidence that P.S.I. could selectively alter transmission in a monosynaptic reflex pathway, and it has recently been demonstrated that this mechanism is selective enough to affect different collaterals from the same muscle spindle afferent (Rudomin et al. 1998). Many spinal mechanisms will come into play secondarily, mainly through changes in reciprocal inhibition and the many reflex effects evoked by the increasingly widespread contractions. In the case of this study, the reduction in H reflex excitability as found before Trigenics treatment in our study may also represent a beneficial adaptation to avoid further injury of the Achilles tendon, possibly reflecting an increase in presynaptic inhibition of Ia afferents as a result of reciprocal inhibition mechanisms associated with co contraction of opposing muscle groups such as the tibialis and soleus muscles.

Based on this study, the Trigenics treatment system may also reduce the P.S.I. to decrease the risk of injury in the elite athlete.

Although the results of this pilot study are very promising, it must be noted that it was done with one subject only and that the results must be conclusively validated by way of further scientific research. One of the most challenging aspects of providing optimum rehabilitative care to the clinician is their understanding of the effect on proprioceptively mediated sensorimotor control after joint or muscle injury. As complex as the proper management of athletic-related or personal injuries can be, the neuromanual Trigenics sensorimotor treatment system appears to provide an advanced, leading edge methodology for accelerated resolution and injury prevention.

Dr. Valeria Muir, University of Toronto, Dr. Allan Oolo Austin & Rannama Lagrmt, University of Tartu, Department of Exercise Biology and Physiology and Institute of Neuroanatomy, Estonia References

1. Austin AO. Trigenics Clinical Applications. 2000.

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THROUGH THE EYES OF A SYMBOLIST- PAUL GAUGUIN: - "IA ORANA MARIA" - (HAIL MARY)

Julia Galinsky

Out of Ia Orana Maria (Figure 1), Paul Gauguin set a monumental precedent in Symbolist painting and religious art. As the icon of the Symbolist movement, he rejects all previous conceptions of art and seeks to establish a new identity, a new method of communication and a unique style. Through the adoption and representation of the subjective, the Symbolists were able for the first time to reject the realist tendencies of their predecessors and explore their innermost convictions by examining their thoughts, feelings, ideas and imagination. Gauguin was convinced that it was imperative "to work freely and passionately, you will make progress sooner or later if you have any worth they will recognize it. Above all, don't sweat over a canvas; a great emotion can be translated instantly, dream about it and seek for it the simplest form" (Chipp, 59). Communicating and evoking deep emotion were essential to the Symbolists. This paper will examine the Symbolist and the subjective movement and Gauguin's search for Utopia, his blindness to the colonial and imperial ramifications, religious convictions, and the establishment of the universality of religion through Ia Orana Maria. His often hypocritical and paradoxical nature produced highly contradictory and controversial meanings in his art. Ia Orana Maria is the embodiment towards which one must strive, et at the same time, it is a contradiction and negation of this ideal. Highly autobiographical, it presents the viewer with both religious and sacrilegious tendencies and communicates a man's personal feelings, emotions, and life behind the seamlessly woven canvas.

The Symbolist and the Subjective movement prevailed in many artistic expressions, including poetry, painting, literature and sculpture, from about 1885 1900. These artists rejected the preceding realist conceptions of art and collectively created a new form of expression (Roskill, 48). Following the lead of advanced poets such as Moreas, Verlaine, Kahn and Mallarme, they turned away from the exterior world and instead inward towards their feelings for their subject matter. (Guerin, 48). Although they often employed traditional religious or literary subjects in their paintings, they declared that their qualities were derived more from colours and forms than from the chosen topic (Chipp, 49).

Consequently, the movement sought to represent not the tangible real world; instead, the newfound freedoms allowed them to express the subjective world. When the Symbolist Manifesto of poets was established in 1886, the artists followed promptly (Chipp, 49). The poets, particularly Mallarme, "developed theories of art which were to provide an ideological background for the thoughts of many artists. They believed that the greatest reality lay in the real of the imagination and fantasy" (Chipp, 49). Hence, Baudelaire's Culte de Moi was revived; his concern with the individuality of expression was transformed into an obsessive concern with the intimate, private world of the self that led to a rejection of the exterior world (Danielsson, 54).

Gustav Khan, a well knownSymbolist poet,attemptedto capture the essenceof the movement by saying, "the essential aim of our art is to objectify the subjective, the externalization of the idea instead of subjectifying the objective nature seen through the eyes of a temperament" (Chipp, 50). Gauguin was highly receptive to poetry as he frequently corresponded with many of his contemporary poets; he developed further insight into himself, perfected his technique, and translated it into the medium of paint. Gauguin not only tried to promote and establish Symbolism but also participated intellectually in Mallarme's, Albert Aurier's and van Gogh's circles (Sweetman, 76). Symbolism manifested itself in diverse styles, and Gauguin was its leading exponent. In a letter to his wife Mette, he wrote: Painting is the most beautiful of all arts: In it are sensations condensed; contemplating it, not everyone can create a story at the will ofhis imagination and with a singleglance havehis soul invaded bythemost profound recollection; no effort of memory, everything is summed up in one instant like music, it acts on the soul through intermediary of the senses: harmonious colours correspond to the harmonies of sounds (Chipp, 61). This new content based on emotion, not objective observation but somewhat subjective, was a paramount aspect of Symbolism because it allowed the artists to use their senses, intellect, imagination and intuition.

Symbolism meant releasing feelings and emotions at the forefront, above all else, projecting innerfeelings throughrich,vibrant colour,whichpenetratesthesoul,theideaofseeing beyond the visible. In his 'Essay on a New Method of Criticism' of 1890 93, Albert Aurier elaborates on Symbolism: To love is the only way to penetrate a thing. To understand God, one must love him; to understand a woman, one must love her; understanding is in proportion to love. The only means, thus, to understand a work of art is to become the lover of it. It is possible as the work ofartis abeing that has asoul andmanifests this byalanguage thatone canlearn(Chipp,

87). Albert Aurier was the most influential and knowledgeable of the Symbolist critics. His ties with many artists gave him a great sense of introspection into their work (Chipp, 52). Aurier praised Gauguin as the leader of the Symbolist artists for embodying all of the elements that Symbolism was founded on (Chipp, 91). In his famous article, 'Symbolism in Painting: Paul Gauguin' in 1981, he outlined the essence of a work of art: 1. Ideaist Unique ideal will be the expression of the idea. 2. Symbolist Express ideas using a form. 3. Synthetist Will present forms and signs according to a method, which is generally understandable. 4. Subjective The object will never be considered an object but a sign of an idea. 5. Decorative

Manifestation of art at once Subjective, Synthetic, Symbolic and Ideist. ( Chipp, 92) For Aurier, these elements were essential to achieving coherence in painting truly. He praised Gauguin's conversation and writing and thought it penetrated with striking aphorisms and profound insight.

During these significant manifestations of Symbolism, Gauguin's ideas only become systematic and polished. His inexhaustible imagination allowed him to reach unequivocal heights in his work, particularly in religious painting (Danielson, 99).</p><p>Growing with disillusionment as a result of industrialism and rapid urbanization of the West, Gauguin fueled his passions for over twenty years which took him from Paris to Brittany, from Brittany to Martinique and Tahiti and finally from Tahiti to Marquesas Tahitians, always in order to pain (Goldwater, 10). He was convinced as it was evident in one of his letters, that "a terrible epoch is brewing n Europe for the coming generation: a kingdom f gold when in Europe men and women survive only after unceasing labour during which they struggle in compulsions of cold and hunger, a prey to misery, the Tahitians, on the contrary, happy inhabitants of the unknown paradise of Oceana, know only the sweetness of Life (Chill, 79). Gauguin could not identify with the current speed of social and technological advancement. He viewed technology as a major threat to art as he said, "when machines have come, art has fled, and I could never believe that photography has been beneficial to us" (Chipp, 83). Gauguin sacrificed everything and perhaps nothing in the pursuit of a Utopian life where he would be able to paint freely. His identification with Rousseauian theories, such as that purity is found in the primitive state rather than in the decadence of European society, convinced him even further that to achieve this inner harmony, he had to abandon Europe (Fisk, 25).

During the New World Order, Colonialism and imperialism dominated movements, and Tahiti

was already a French colony upon Gauguin's arrival in 1891 (Hollman, 34). His Utopian lust for a lush and earthly paradise was precisely communicated in his paintings, correspondences and his original manuscript of his works in Noa Noa. Yet Gauguin was often paradoxical and hypocritical in his views. As he believed that primitive societies were more harmonious, just and ethical than the West, it was largely because Gauguin turned away from harsh realism and chose to perceive only what he longed to see. He decided to be blind to the island's social fabric, which became distorted due to Colonialism. There was tremendous prostitution and poverty, which mimicked the West.

Consequently, Gauguin tried to escape paradise yet didn't realize that paradise was lost in Tahiti (Jirat, 56). From the perspective of his accomplishments, it may be argued that Gauguin's blindness proved beneficial for him, and it was in Tahiti where he could find peace and execute the paintings that he is most renowned for His disappointment in the West is reflected in his statement, "art has just gone through a long period of aberration caused by physics, chemistry, mechanics and the study of nature. Artists having lost all of their savageries, having no more instincts, one could even say imagination, went astray on every path looking for productive elements which they did not have enough strength to create" (Chipp, 86).

Gauguin believes in his ideology, which is somewhat of a truism said, "he who wishes to paint something must live with something" (Chipp,99). Indeed he did this in an unprecedented painting, Ia Orana Maria or Hail Mary, which translates to either hello, good bye or thank you, Mary. Here he depicts Mary and Christ's child, two female figures approaching them and an angel with yellow wings pointing at the two Tahitians, all enveloped in a lush island and exotic fruit within the immediate background and foreground, respectively. At first glance, it seems that Gauguin is imposing his values of Western culture onto the Tahitians. Mary, dressed not in peasant rags but a strikingly bold red pareo, is treated as highly individual from the rest of the painting (Maisels, 286).

The colours lie bold, strong, local and flat. They are not the optical colours often associated with Impressionism, but strong blocks of colours are applied to the figures. The painting is

balanced between the verticals of the trees and figures against the receding horizontal bands of the ground (Goldwater, 100). A further iconographic analysis is required to read Ia Orana Maria. The two figures shown approaching Mary and Christ are startlingly similar to two figures on relief in a Temple (Figure 2). There is a close resemblance in perspective; the bodily posture and how one figure walks behind the other appear to be n=more than coincidental. Gauguin was interested in Buddhist teachings and perhaps had access to their knowledge of the Javanese Temple of Borobudur (Hollman, 34). The paintings project the appearance of Maria to native worshippers, as they would imagine her rather than seeing her by means of an inner vision or epiphany (Maisels, 291).

In the guise of Tahitian culture, Gauguin presents us with Christian Biblical Adoration. The halo around Mary and Christ stresses the religious character of the Tahitian culture. As Arthur Aurier pointed out, "this is precisely why this adamant use of a specifically Christian theme only in Tahiti differentiates Gauguin from other artists of his time and especially from his closest friends" (Maisels, 281 82). In Tahiti, Madonna and Child appeared in Gauguin's work.

Once the idea of depicting Mary as a Tahitian took hold, it found reinforcement in his ideas in the Bible: "he says Christ not as a particular person living at a particular time but as an ideal towards which man must strive" (Maisels, 290). While growing up, Gauguin had a Jesuit education; he then lost interest in religion and regained it in Tahiti in 1891 (Wadley, 400). His religious theories are ambiguous as he swings from highly orthodox religious values to the anti religious pendulum (Maisels, 400). Yet, in Ia Orana Maria, his theories are Symbolist ideas in a Christian guise; Christ is the historical embodiment of the Neo platonic ideal (Maiesels, 487). He believed organized religion was highly hypocritical and did not like the Western Church.

Ia Orana Maria presents us with a personal image of God and personal worship, regardless of culture, gender, civilized or primitive, East or West. Gauguin believed that Western Church misunderstood God and attacked the worldly Church, which could not understand a purely spiritual God of the primitive people in Ia Orana Maria. Gauguin's depiction of Ia Orana Maria may be far from religious. He did not reconstruct the Bible historically; instead, he used it to express events in his own personal life. It was important to utilize thereligious genre as amode ofself expression.Thus,givingIaOranaMariaan autobiographicalmeaning(Goldwater110).

The year 1891 commemorates the birth date of his first illegitimate child in Tahiti. Here he treats the theme as symbolic instead of on a genre plane. The mistress represents Mary and his offering as Jesus. The idea of painting as mistress as the Virgin and the illegitimate child as Christ seems contrary to his negative views of the Western Church and Sacrilegious. Understandably, the model's identity is not as crucial as the sentiments expressed in his work, yet here is where Gauguin falls into a trap! He escapes Europe and the negative connotations he associates it with to harmony and paradise. Yet ironically, the paradise he sought refuge in was spoiled by his own culture and, more precisely, by himself. Gauguin was "exploiting" a culture he had tremendous admiration and respect for.

By painting Mary and Christ, he communicates not only a religious motif but also a familial one. Gauguin could be interpreted to depict the virtues of motherhood or ideal motherhood by translating his autobiographical life to promote or, should I say, have a P.R. firm which promotes adultery. For how could the notion of ideal motherhood have any remaining dignity? Again, the contradiction is of monumental significance because as Gauguin depicts a religious genre, one of Christian universal values and morals, he simultaneously condemns the painting. The Catholic Church does not promote either adultery or divorce. If Ia Orana Maria was to be read strictly from an"autobiographical" perspective,onecould almost deducethattheopposite was true. Does Gauguin's work provide the framework for the "ideal towards which man must strive?" (Maisels, 290). Is adultery ideal? Are fatherless children ideal? To answer these questions, one must understand that the other three religious works in Tahiti that Gauguin executed were also to commemorate the births of his three other illegitimate children (Maisels, 290).

Ia Orana Maria was revolutionary because it was a precursor of the Catholic Church's new attitudes towards missionary art (Maisels, 289). Twenty years after the painting was executed, churchmen realized that depicting Christ as a European "hindered" conversions of Asians and Africans as it convinced them that Christ was a foreigner (Maisels, 289). From 1911 onward, Pope Pius XI Evangelii Praecones and the Catholic Church's mission were to "commission native artists to depict Christian themes in the "familiar" and thus more convincing, native manner" (Maisels, 289). Colonial rule and missionary education were far from honourable.

There no longer remained indigenous art. All idols, rituals, burials and temples were in ruins, and the oral traditions were gone with the exception of some Maori myths, which remained (Maisels, 108). The introspective analysis of Ia Orana Maria reveals to the observer that it may be interpreted on numerous unique and different planes. Above all, it serves as a hallmark of the Symbolist movement and its emotional sensibilities or representation, if you will, through the subjective perception of the world.

As Gauguin projects the most "private" and "sacred" moments of his personal life onto the canvas, it automatically becomes charged with greater emotional depth. Ia Orana Maria addresses such questions as; is religion universal? Are they civilized because of religion? Are they still spiritual after colonial rule? Ia Orana Maria is undoubtedly the epitome of the ideal toward which man must strive, and although Gauguin achieved this ideal pictorially he nevertheless failed to achieve it within himself! He communicates a message and a lesson that only the viewers may redeem. Let's redeem this artist together.

© Julia Galinsky

Works Cited

Chipp, B. Herschel. Theories of Modern Art. University of California: Berkley, Los Angelos. 1968.

Danielson, Bengt. Gauguin in the South Seas. Doubleday and Company, Inc. Garden City, New York. 1966.

Fisk, Jehanne. Paradise Reviewed: An Interpretation of Gauguin's Polynesian Symbolism. U.M.I. research press: Ann Arbour, Michigan. 1983.

Goldwater, Robert. Paul Gauguin. Harry, N. Adams, Inc. New York, N.Y. 1987.

Guerin, Daniel. The Writings of a Savage: Paul Gauguin. Trans. Eleanor, Levieux. The Viking Press: New York, N.Y. 1974.

Hollmam, Eckhard. Paul Gauguin: Images from the South Seas. Prestel Munich Publishers: New York, N.Y. 1996.

Jirat, Vojtech. Paul Gauguin in the Context of Symbolism. Garland Publishing, Inc.. New York, N.Y. 1978.

Maisels, Ziva. Gauguin's Religious Themes. Garland Publishing, Inc., New York, N.Y. 1985.

Roskill, Mark. Van Gogh, Gauguin and the Impressionist Circle. New York Graphic Society Ltd. Greenwich, Connecticut. 1970.

Sweetman, David. Paul Gauguin: A Complete Life. Hodder and Stroughton, Great Britain. 1995.

Wadley, Nicolas. Noa Noa: Gauguin’s Tahiti. Trans. Jonathan Griffin. Phaidon Press Limited: Oxford. 1985.

Cyber Security, Blockchain, Crypto Currency

WE NEED A NEW INTERNET Ken Muir

Abstract

The Internet was developed as a theoretical model for building interconnected computer networks. The original development came from the United States and eventually involved collaboration between the United Kingdom and France.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency, also known as (ARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense, Spearheaded this project with the original intent of allowing collaboration between various universities and other educational institutions. The original designation for this interconnected network was Arpanet as far back as 1969.

Tim Berners Lee was a British computer scientist working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) between 1989 90. His research resulted in what we now know as the World Wide Web. This breakthrough hypertext Technology meant that documents sitting on a system connected to Arpanet would become accessible from anywhere.

Asa result,the advent of youandvaried forms of communicationwouldincludeEmail,instant messaging, voice communications (VoIP), video conferencing, Electronic Commerce, and so many other communication capabilities on World Wide Web.

Interestingly, Internet adoption for communications was relatively fast because only 1% of all communications was with the World Wide Web in 1993. This number increased to 51% by 2000. Then we saw a dramatic increase to more than 97% by 2007.

The Benefits

The success of the world wide web as a global communications platform has altered our concept of time and space in terms of the speed at which we now can communicate with anyone in the world, using a variety of platforms and for various purposes.

One significant benefit is in the area of commerce. You no longer needed to be a global organization to be able to create, market and deliver goods that were limited to your local

community. Because of the World Wide Web, everyone could expand existing businesses or create new businesses that now had a global reach.

The Internet, Cyber Security and Digital Protection

The Internet as we know it today is undeniably one of the most significant inventions of all time. It has changed the lives of millions of people worldwide in ways you could not have imagined only a few decades ago. Almost every organization relies on information technology to conduct its business. But, unbeknownst to the millions of people that would ultimately embrace this technology, they had no idea that the underlying infrastructure was never built with security in mind. Therefore, so many organizations are struggling to secure their businesses. The Internet is almost like a glass house. We continually by technology to try and secure an infrastructure that is impossible to secure. The larger the organization, the more difficult this becomes. Nobody should be under any illusion that there is a single solution or even a combination of solutions to solve this problem. Companies are spending billions of dollarsayear on a range oftechnologies. Yet they arestill getting breached someto thepoint where the damage is so extreme that their businesses cease to exist.

The Result

The businesses that set up shop and connect to the Internet are so porous in most cases that compromise is almost inevitable, and a breach or compromise will happen. Below are some examples of the many types of attacks organizations are struggling to defend against:

Malware attack

So many organizations are not patching their systems and keeping them up to date with the latest vulnerability fixes. It is where Malware of many types can take advantage of these weaknesses, thereby putting an organization in an area of high risk.

Malware Types

• Trojan virus tricks a user into thinking it is a harmless file. A Trojan can launch an attack on a system and establish a backdoor, which attackers can use.

• Ransomware it's the methodology used by cybercriminals to prevent an individual or organization from being able to access their data. Usually in the form of encryption that requires a special key to unlock, and only by paying a ransom.

• Wiper malware this technique has been around for decades. The intent is to wipe your hard drive or other Storage Devices of any data you own. It could be an extension to ransomware were not paying the ransom could result in the complete removal of all data, including those of your backups.

Worms this concept allows the Malware to give us a network and adapt to conditions depending on the network type, including evading AntiMalware software. Spyware this particular Malware comes in many forms and is used for many different purposes. Still, principally, it is designed to steal information about an individual or organization that could potentially be used against them. It could include the theft of intellectual property or information that is very sensitive and could be injurious if it were leaked.

Fileless Malware

This type of Malware does not need to be installed on a system. All that is required is executing a script that copies the Malware into memory, where it will reside without detection by typical endpoint Malware detection tools.

Website Vulnerabilities one of the ironies about being able to advertise your products and services on the Internet is the use of websites. A website presence on the Internet is significant in today's world. The issue here is that numerous attack vectors could be present in the website design. A weak security design during development is often the cause of why organizations are breached on such a regular basis.

Social engineering

Phishing the success of this type of social engineering all too often leads to the compromise of an organizational individual. It usually starts with an email being sent to an employee of an organization or individual requesting that they click on a link to perform a function. Still, they may be familiar with not realizing it has come from a malicious source. One of the reasons

why this is so successful it's because of domain squatting

Domain Squatting this is a famous trick with the cybercriminals where they will take, for example, ABC123.com and create a brand new domain called ABC!23.com. You can then create an MX record allowing you to create email addresses that look similar enough to the original to be able to fool a user into thinking it was coming from and legitimate source Spear phishing this technique is a more targeted approach involved in trying to trick individuals in an organization that may have special privileges like senior members of an organization or anybody that has access to critical information and knowledge of financial processes that could lead to exfiltration with damaging consequences.

Malvertising as described before, the exploitation and compromise of the website may also be used to install advertising Malware. A visit to a legitimate website could contain Malware in the ads section of each page. It would then be downloaded to the computer accessing the site to carry out any malicious activities.

Drive by downloads this is another example of how when cybercriminals have detected that a website is easily compromised, they would install malicious code into the web pages. They could inject code to perform functions like redirecting the user to a malicious site to download Malware by clicking on compromised links embedded in the website. The method can also download malicious content to take over a computer. This activity is not limited to what is described here but is an example of what is possible.

Scareware Many people will look for online Malware detection and removal services after potentially suffering a virus infection. It is another avenue where cybercriminals have figured out that by creating a malicious site pretending to offer this service, they can acquire credit card details for the payment of the service, as well as download Malware pretending to run scans looking for Malware.

Baiting an example of this is a well known test run many years ago where researchers dropped USB Keys in a parking lot to see how many people would pick them up and plug them into their systems, not realizing that these USB Keys contained Malware. The result was malicious code could be installed on the keys, activating and potentially giving cybercriminals

access to the system. It is just one example of this methodology. There are several ways to trickpeopleintodoingthingstheyshouldn't.Hencethereasonwhysecurityawarenesstraining is critical for organizations.

• Vishing threat actors use this particular type of activity using voice calls to individuals to try to trick in into divulging sensitive information that could include credit card or bank details. Tax season is an example of where this activity would ramp up.

• Whaling this is an activity you do not hear discussed often. But essentially, it typically uses the same approach as phishing or spearfishing. The intent here is to target the most senior membersofan organizationwhowouldhavethetypeof information thatcould leadto asevere security breach. It could be other organizations carrying out industrial espionage as an example.

Advanced Persistent Threats (A.P.T.)

this is usually the function of a state backed cybercriminal organization with various mandates. Some of the activities will include industrial espionage, financial theft, intellectual property theft, research and development, and compromise of government institutions as examples of why these entities exist.

Cybercriminals (who are they)

The problem is Protecting Your Identity and Intellectual Property from Cyber Criminals State sponsored cyber criminal groups who have developed an affiliation with their host country or who the host country has created to act as proxies to carry out cybercriminal activity. An example is the Lazarus group in North Korea which, among other things, targets financial institutions globally.

Cyber Terrorists much like terrorists in the real world, these groups are designed to try to achieve similar outcomes using cyber techniques.

Industrial spying these groups are designed to try to steal information, technology, or any number of items that can help generate financial gains.

Organized crime groups in some cases, these organizations are structured very similarly to

a regular organization but with the intent of compromising organizations for financial gain. For example, they may have a C.E.O. as part of the structure.

• Hackers these are some of the oldest known individuals whose primary motivation was to compromise businesses and other organizations but who have now morphed into using their skills for monetary gain.

• Hacktivists hacktivists are hackers who use their skills for ideological reasons and are not technically motivated by financial gains.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence in the cyber security world will ultimately help to drive much needed efficiencies in how we detect, analyze, and remediate security issues across a wide range of requirements.

I am already using a neural network based penetration system that tests the controls of organizations that is exponentially faster than any human. This capability frees up the human penetration tester so they can perform additional research much faster than ever. What would normally take and human one, two or three weeks of work to complete can be done in a matter of hours, including generating an executive style report?

The issue, as always with any technology designed to assist humans in creating efficiencies in their work for good, the issue can also be used by those wishing to harm. Cybercriminals have the same issue as everyone else: there are not enough skilled professionals to perform these functions. So byturning to artificialintelligenceto performthe procedures, you achievealevel of scale that would be impossible just using humans.

Solution

What is needed is a new Internet. We need an Internet design with security in mind right from the drawing board. The regular Internet can be used for routine business activities, social media, personal email, and other forms of communication that we have become accustomed to.

But when it comes to organizations, government institutions, and private industries that have

a lot to lose, which ultimately affect a country's economy in significant ways, this way of operating is no longer acceptable.

We are asking these same organizations to spend billions of dollars a year on technology Solutions that simply will not work in this environment to guarantee the type of security that is desperately needed.

There already exist Internet areas that were designed with this security in mind. The ability to obfuscate your identity, your Internet address, the types of communications you are conducting, and the data you transmit is already there. All of the things that have been developedas best practices as describedbyinstitutions liketheNational InstituteforStandards and Technology (N.I.S.T.)andtheCenterfor Internet Security (C.I.S.),as well as manyothers, already exist.

A lot of what the standards provide suggestions for organizations to follow in terms of developing good security strategy already exist in these areas and should be explored further for commercialization, particularly for data that is of national importance both militarily and economically.

Ken Muir is an Information Technology leader. Top 100 Cybersecurity Thought Leaders in 2020. Member of a global advisory board, Keynote presenter, research contributor, I.T./Securitysince1993andisexperiencedincyber Securityconsulting,professionalservices, and managed security services. Ken is also a Mentor and virtual C.I.S.O. for public and private organizations. My preference has always been to be a fully hands on leader developing an array of skills and experiences along with his teams. This range of experiences includes Business Development, Program and Project Leadership, Security Technology Integration, security architecture, and working with businesses in many verticals, including Aerospace, Energy, Major Retail, Governments, and Educational Institutions. (among many others). Leading large scale ($Ms to over $100M) programs, complex security design projects, technical implementations, and training (N.I.S.T., C.I.S. & PCI) audits, red/blue team exercises, and process development. Have built and re built security operation center solutions (S.O.C.)

References:

The 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (D.B.I.R.)

Ponemon Institute = Measuring Trust In Privacy and Security Mark Goodman Future Crimes: Inside the Digital Underground and the Battle for Our Connected World Paperback Jan. 12, 2016

Bob Schiff Co Founder Dark Cryptonite Stops Ransomware in its Tracks

Tyler Cohen Wood Co Founder of Dark Cryptonite