Abstract. Obfuscation concerns the practice of deliberately degrading the quality of information in some way, so as to protect the privacy of the individual to whom that information refers. In this paper, we argue that obfuscation is an important technique for protecting an individual's location privacy within a pervasive computing environment. The paper sets out a formal framework within which obfuscated location-based services are defined. This framework provides a computationally efficient mechanism for balancing an individual's need for high-quality information services against that individual's need for location privacy. Negotiation is used to ensure that a location-based service provider receives only the information it needs to know in order to provide a service of satisfactory quality. The results of this work have implications for numerous applications of mobile and location-aware systems, as they provide a new theoretical foundation for addressing the privacy concerns that are acknowledged to be retarding the widespread acceptance and use of location-based services.

Abstract. Numerous cognitive studies have indicated that the form and complexity of route instructions may be as important to human navigators as the overall length of route. Most automated navigation systems rely on computing the solution to the shortest path problem, and not the problem of finding the "simplest" path. This paper addresses the issue of finding the "simplest" paths through a network, in terms of the instruction complexity. We propose a "simplest" paths algorithm that has quadratic computation time for a planar graph. An empirical study of the algorithm's performance, based on an established cognitive model of navigation instruction complexity, revealed that the length of a simplest path was on average only 16% longer than the length of the corresponding shortest path. In return for marginally longer routes, the simplest path algorithm seems to offer considerable advantages over shortest paths in terms of their ease of description and execution. The conclusions indicate several areas for future research: in particular cognitive studies are needed to verify these initial computational results. Potentially, the simplest paths algorithm could be used to replace shortest paths algorithms in any automated system for generating human navigation instructions, including in-car navigation systems, Internet driving direction servers, and other location-based services.

Chimpanzees possess a large number of behavioral and cultural traits among nonhuman species. The “disturbance hypothesis” predicts that human impact depletes resources and disrupts social learning processes necessary for behavioral and cultural transmission. We used a dataset of 144 chimpanzee communities, with information on 31 behaviors, to show that chimpanzees inhabiting areas with high human impact have a mean probability of occurrence reduced by 88%, across all behaviors, compared to low-impact areas. This behavioral diversity loss was evident irrespective of the grouping or categorization of behaviors. Therefore, human impact may not only be associated with the loss of populations and genetic diversity, but also affects how animals behave. Our results support the view that “culturally significant units” should be integrated into wildlife conservation.

Older adults are normally characterized as consumers, rather than producers, of digital content. Current research concerning the design of technologies for older adults typically focuses on providing access to digital resources. Access is important, but is often insufficient, especially when establishing new social relationships. This paper investigates the nature and role of digital content that has been created by older adults, for the purpose of forging new relationships. We present a unique field study in which seven older adults (aged 71-92 years), who did not know each other, used a prototype iPad application (Enmesh) to create and share photographs and messages. The findings demonstrate that older adults, even those in the "oldest old" age group, embraced opportunities to express themselves creatively through digital content production. We show that self-expression and social engagement with peers can be realized when sociotechnical systems are suitably designed to allow older adults to create and share their own digital content.

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Several studies have documented the importance of social bonding for the enhancement of individual fitness. However, little is known about how social relationships develop through ontogeny, and whether their development follows the same trajectory in males and females. Here we analyzed affiliative interactions (proximity, social grooming, play) combined with demographic and genetic data in semi-free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) on Cayo Santiago over their first 4 yr of life (from birth to sexual maturation) to understand how these interactions change through development in both sexes. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that social behaviors mostly followed different developmental trajectories in males and females and were highly dependent on the social context. In particular, sex differences in social behavior varied through development depending on the partner’s sex and age. Females engaged in more social interactions than males, especially with other females, and were more involved in grooming around the time of maturation. In contrast, males interacted more with males and age peers, especially around maturation. Sex differences in social behavior varied through development, but also depended on rank, partner’s rank, and kin line, although not consistently. High-ranking individuals, especially older females, were generally preferred as social partners. Moreover, both male and female individuals interacted mostly with maternal kin, although males also preferred paternal kin over nonkin. Importantly, most developmental changes in sociality happened when individuals were ca. 2 yr old, suggesting that this might be a milestone in the development of sociality in rhesus macaques. The only notable exception to this pattern was play, which was more pronounced in males from the beginning of their lives. We propose that play might serve as a trigger of sex differences in social behavior, with sex differences emerging early in development and increasing through time as males and females gradually grow into their adult social roles.

The study examines the effects of parental background variables on parent-child differences in sex typing of roles and occupations, using a sample of Israeli fathers and mothers and their adolescent children ( n = 134 in each group). In general, mothers held more liberal attitudes, followed by their children, whereas fathers appeared to be the most conservative. Parents' background variables were found to have some effect on their own attitudes as well as their children's attitudes to gender roles, but no impact on sex typing of occupations was found. Mothers' and fathers' education, as well as the mother's work status, significantly affected the views of both parents and children on the question of gender role. Parents with more education and families with full-time working mothers tended to be more liberal. The mother's place of birth, degree of family's religiosity, and number of children influenced parental attitudes but not those of offspring.

In group living animals, especially among primates, there is consistent evidence that high-ranking males gain a higher reproductive output than low-ranking males. Primate studies have shown that male coalitions and sociality can impact male fitness; however, it remains unclear whether males could potentially increase their fitness by preferentially supporting and socializing with females. Here we investigate patterns of male interventions and the effect of coalitions and sociality on male fitness in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with particular focus on male-female interactions. We combined behavioral collected on Cayo Santiago with genetic data analyzed for male reproductive output and relatedness. Our results revealed that the ten top-ranking males provided the majority of all male support observed. In contrast to other primates, male rhesus macaques mainly formed all-down coalitions suggesting that coalitions are less likely used to enhance male dominance. Males supporting females during and before their likely conception were not more likely to fertilize those females. We also found no evidence that males preferably support their offspring or other close kin. Interestingly, the most important predictor of male support was sociality, since opponents sharing a higher sociality index with a given male were more likely to be supported. Furthermore, a high sociality index of a given male-female dyad resulted in a higher probability of paternity. Overall, our results strengthen the evidence that sociality affects fitness in male primates, but also suggest that in species in which males queue for dominance, it is less likely that males derive fitness benefits from coalitions.