A Dynamic Theory of Security Free-Riding by Firms in the WFH Age

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically transformed the work-from-home (WFH) paradigm, and expanded an organization's cyber-vulnerability space. We propose a novel strategic method to quantify the degree of sub-optimal cybersecurity in an organization of employees, all of whom work in heterogeneous WFH 'siloes'. Specifically, we model the per-unit cost of asymmetric WFH employees to invest in security-improving effort units as time-discounted exponential martingales over time, and derive as benchmark - the centrally-planned socially optimal aggregate employee effort at any given time instant. We then derive the time-varying strategic Nash equilibrium amount of aggregate employee effort in cybersecurity in a distributed setting. The time-varying ratio of these centralized and distributed estimates quantifies the free riding dynamics, i.e., security sub-optimality, within an organization. Rigorous estimates of the degree of sub-optimal cybersecurity will drive organizational policy makers to design appropriate (customized) solutions that voluntarily incentivize WFH employees to invest in required cybersecurity best practices. © 2022 IEEE.

Sanitization Using Autonomous Drone

Since the COVID -19 epidemic has nearly brought about global catastrophe, every chance to make things better must be considered. One such technique for improvement is airborne decontamination. Researching this method's efficacy in the pandemic is vital since it can be used for surface cleaning of bigger areas. There are numerous instances of using drones to disinfect areas affected by epidemics, but best practices and factors affecting effectiveness have not yet been found. The adaptable uses of agricultural drones are evident from reports about utilizing drones for disinfection during a pandemic. The authors of this study calculated the potential amount of disinfectant fluid per unit area using various parameters for fly speed, flight altitude, and flow rate. As a result, by adjusting the settings, a range of disinfectant concentrations per unit area can be provided. Even though the results create a lot of new queries, they can be used to determine appropriate flying characteristics based on various disinfection liquids. © 2022 IEEE.

Determination of the Morphological Characteristics of Eight Types of Protective Face Masks and Respirators

Respiratory infections have arisen as a public health concern. The regulation of COVID-19 is based on knowledge of its transmission mechanism. Masks and respirators act as a physical barrier against respiratory droplets that enter through the nose and mouth, as well as droplets spat by sick persons. Textile masks (including 'do-it-yourself'), surgical (medical) masks and respirators are the three basic types of personal protection devices, covering the human face. The purpose of our work is to give a study on the morphological features of masks and respirators, which are widely accessible in Bulgarian shops and pharmacies, revealing their structure and differences between them. The results will be further used for the assessment of heat and mass transfer abilities of the masks/respirators, which are largely preconditioned by the masks' morphology. © 2022 IEEE.

Exact Calculation of Social Distancing at Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic by Using Simple Kinematics of Aerosols

In the ongoing Covid-19 panemic the social distance is needed to guarantee healthy oral Communications even with the wearing of a mask. In this paper the so-called social distancing is calculated with the usage of simple kinematics and other physics-based concepts. According to the calculations of this study the distance depends on the square root of a logarithm and the initial number of expelled aerosols per unit of volume. Computational simulations were carried out. The result havd shown that the environment that supports the lifetime of aerosol is a relevant variable that suggests that thermodynamics needs to be applied to formulate a precise theory of infection based at aerosols in order to estimate an universal social distancing policy. © 2021 IEEE.

Impacts of Climate and Environmental Change on Bean Cultivation in China

The impact of human-caused environmental pollution and global climate change on the economy and society can no longer be underestimated. Agriculture is the most directly and vulnerably affected sector by climate change. This study used beans, the food crop with the largest supply and demand gap in China, as the research object and established a panel spatial error model consisting of multiple indicators of four factors: climate environment, economic market, human planting behavior and technical development level of 25 provinces in China from 2005 to 2019 to explore the impact of climate environmental changes on the yields of beans. The study shows that: (1) The increase in precipitation has a significant positive effect on bean yields;however, the increase in temperature year by year has a significant negative effect on bean yields;(2) carbon emissions do not directly affect bean production at present but may have an indirect impact on bean production;(3) artificial irrigation and fertilization behavior on bean production has basically reached saturation, making it difficult to continue to increase bean yields and (4) the development of technology and human activity is a mixed blessing, and the consequent inhibiting effects on bean production are currently unable to offset their promoting effects. Thus, when it comes to bean cultivation, China should focus mainly on the overall impact of environmental changes on its production, rather than technical enhancements such as irrigation and fertilization. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Atmosphere is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Indoors ventilation in times of confinement by SARS-CoV-2 epidemic: A comparative approach between Spain and Italy.

With the arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the scientific academia, as well as policymakers, are striving to conceive solutions as an attempt to contain the spreading of contagion. Among the adopted measures, severe lockdown restrictions were issued to avoid the diffusion of the virus in an uncontrolled way through public spaces. It can be deduced from recent literature that the primary route of transmission is via aerosols, produced mainly in poorly ventilated interior areas where infected people spend a lot of time with other people. Concerning contagion rates, accumulated incidence or number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, Spain, and Italy have reached very high levels. In this framework, a regression analysis to assess the feasibility of the indoor ventilation measures established in Spain and Italy, with respect to the European framework, is here presented. To this aim, ten cases of housing typology were and analyzed. The results show that the measures established in the applicable regulations to prevent and control the risk of contagion by aerosols are not adequate to guarantee a healthy environment indoors. The current Italian guidelines are more restrictive than in Spain, yet the ventilation levels are still insufficient in times of pandemic.