New research has found that malicious behaviour is the norm in crowdsourcing competitions â even when it is in everyoneâs interest to cooperate.
Crowdsourcing provides the ability to accomplish information-gathering tasks that require the involvement of a large number of people, often across wide-spread geographies, expertise, or interests.
However, researchers from the University of Southampton and the National Information and Communications Technology Australia (NICTA) found that a significant feature of crowdsourcing â its openness of entry â makes it vulnerable to malicious behaviour.
They observed such behaviour in a number of recent popular crowdsourcing competitions, through analysis based on the âPrisoner's Dilemmaâ scenario, which shows why two purely ârationalâ individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interest.
Co-author Dr Victor Naroditskiy from the University of Southampton says: âEveryone from the âcrowdâ can contribute to solving the task. This is exactly what makes crowdsourcing so powerful for solving tasks that are all but impossible for a closed group of individuals or an organisation.
âAt the same time, the openness makes crowdsourcing solutions vulnerable to malicious behaviour of other interested parties. Malicious behaviour can take many forms, ranging from sabotaging problem progress to submitting misinformation. This comes to the front in crowdsourcing contests where a single winner takes the prize.â?
Surprisingly, making the attacks more expensive for the attacker is not an effective way of deterring them. These findings, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, will be important for the design of crowdsourcing competitions, as well as for firms that consider using crowdsourcing to solve a task.
Professor Sheng Chen from the University of Southampton has been elected as a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE).
Professor Chen was one of 59 new Fellows who were elected by the RAE at its AGM this week. All new Fellows have been invited to join the Fellowship in recognition of their outstanding and continuing contributions to engineering.
Sheng Chen, a Professor in the Communications, Signal Processing and Control Research Group at the University, engages in world-leading research into computational intelligence and signal processing, together with their engineering applications for mobile communications.
Professor Chen says: âMy election to a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering is recognition of my personal achievements and Southamptonâs endeavour in helping to develop these enabling technologies that underpin our information society and digital economy.â?
Professor Dame Ann Dowling DBE FREng FRS, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: âOur newly elected Fellows bring an enormous breadth of expertise to the Academy, widening our collective scope and knowledge. I know that they will all make significant contributions to the Academyâs activities in their time as Fellows and we look forward to working with them to create benefit for society through engineering.â?
Pete Lockhart, Chief Technology Officer of Chemring Technology Solutions, has been appointed Visiting Professor in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton.
Pete is a distinguished engineer and technology leader, with over 30 yearsâ experience in leading-edge contract research and development. He has delivered innovative solutions for a diverse range of customers, from television production companies to government security agencies. His career has covered sensor, communication and internet research, and spans both the civil and defence markets, developing bespoke sensors to full turnkey systems for broadcast, transportation, defence and national security applications. He has filed numerous patent applications.
âECS places a high value on its links with industry and opportunities for joint research,â? said Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science, âwe are therefore delighted to be able to appoint Pete Lockhart as a Visiting Professor.
âPete is a highly respected figure in UK industry and our staff and students will benefit from his passion for technology, his knowledge and experience of systems engineering, and his enthusiasm for emerging technologies.â?
As Chief Technology Officer of Chemring Technology Solutions, Pete is currently responsible for driving the companyâs innovation programme. Its focus is on developing cyber security and information-processing technology by combining sensing expertise with machine learning to create novel sense-making and decision-support systems. Chemring Technology Solutions currently employs over 360 engineers and works across the whole of the systems engineering lifecycle.
Pete has had close links with ECS over the last 10 years, working with staff and students, and serving as a member of the ECS Industrial Advisory Board.
ECS was a lead sponsor of the first pan-European student conference, held in London on Saturday 27 September.
EF Unhacked, organized by Entrepreneur First, brought together over 200 students and recent graduates from across Europe, to hear from founders and technologists about the practical and commercial applications of tech startups, and to connect with like-minded enthusiasts for the new business opportunities that technology is creating. The event was held at Level 39, One Canada Square in Canary Wharf.
Speakers included Ben Medlock, Co-Founder and CTO of Swiftkey, Avid Larizadeh, Co-Founder of Boticca, and Dan Crow, CTO of Songkick. There were also panel discussions from graduates of the Entrepreneur First programme, as well as student talks and networking sessions. Over 450 applications were received for the 200 places at the event, with participants travelling from over 23 countries to be there.
ECS was well represented with 13 students in attendance. âEF UnHacked was the first conference I've ever attended, and I'm so glad I went!â?, said Millie Pearce, final-year student in Information Technology in Organisations. âI had a fantastic time, met some inspiring like-minded people and was privileged to listen to such great speakers - definitely an experience I'd love to repeat!â?
"All the keynote speeches really inspired me to get going with my startup and do great things," said third-year Computer Science student Roberto Gregoratti. "Especially Dan Crow's, which showed us how important it is to be passionate about the future of tech!"
Altay Adademir, first-year student in Software Engineering, commented: âIt was a really good event for people thinking of making start-ups, especially to be able to hear from programmers who have been so successful with their own business start-ups.â?
EF (Entrepreneur First) is the only seed investment programme that selects purely on the basis of technical talent. Students are able to join the programme before they have a team or an idea for a business, and receive funding support over an intensive seven-month programme that enables the founding of a startup. Four ECS graduates have been part of the programme, which began in 2012.
At the NSGG and BGA meetings, he won the best presentation and at the HubNet Smartgrids meeting he won the best poster! This yearâs Near Surface Geophysics Group (NSGG) postgraduate symposium took place on the 13th of May at the headquarters of the British Geological Survey in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire. A wide variety of topics were represented, with speakers coming from many recognised institutions such as Imperial College London, University of Nottingham and ETH Zurich. Tim Hughes gave a talk in the Marine Geophysics session entitled Environmental Controls on the Thermal Performance of High Voltage Cables under the Seafloor. At the end of the presentation, Tim was awarded the "Best Paper" prize.
The aim of Tim's research is to try to understand how certain properties of marine sediments affect the thermal performance of submarine high voltage (HV) cables. The traditional analytical methods for calculating cable current ratings are controlled to a large degree by the properties of the sediment surrounding the cable itself, as heat generated within the cable needs to be dissipated into the environment in order to preserve the condition of the cable components. Tim's work uses a numerical technique called the finite element method to simulate heat flow in and around high voltage cables buried specifically under the seafloor. Due to the nature of his research, he spends his time split between the TDHVL and the University of Southampton geology and geophysics group located in the National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS).
Once more, the TDHVL research team have been recognised for their research in underground high voltage cables. These and other awards confirm that not only is TDHVL research advancing the current state-of-the-art in the power sector, but is also developing a new generation of top quality researchers.
ECS final-year student Tom Bell is already sharing the benefits of his undergraduate degree. Tom has written a beginners guide to practical programming, now available on Amazon as a Kindle e-book, and in paperback.
Programming for Everyday Life provides the basics of programming in Python; programming for the Web and how to use technology to create applications, services and tools that transform lives.
Tom hopes that his book will be particularly useful for Physics, Maths and Chemistry students who could benefit from understanding more about practical computation, and who already possess the procedural thinking that programmers need. âItâs not about dumbing it down,â he says, âbut rather it's about making programming accessible to all who want to learn, create and reinvent.â
Currently in the final year of the MEng course in Electronic Engineering with Mobile and Secure Systems at the University of Southampton, Tom is passionate about getting the essential skills of programming into the hands of students, professionals and those out of work, in order to provide them with the tools to achieve more in everyday life.
In addition to the skills gained on his degree programme, Tom has worked as a freelance developer and within a range of companies, taking ideas and making them a reality for customers. He founded his own software development consulting company, Eminode Software and is actively involved in delivering software solutions and advice to start-ups.
During Freshers Week, Tom also launched a new online platform called Uni Media Mash Southampton, which enables students to list textbooks, CDs, DVDs, games, consoles, screens and more for sale and to link with prospective buyers.
Hugh Davis, Professor of Learning Technologies in the Web and Internet Science Research Group (WAIS) and Director of the Institute for Innovation, Learning and Development (ILIaD), will be giving an inaugural lecture, âBreaking the Mould: how technologies change the way we learnâ?, on Monday November 3rd 2014. His lecture will form part of the ILIaD inaugural conference, which will take place on the same day.
Professor Davisâ talk will take an affectionate tour through the evolution of technology-enhanced learning from the perspective of a teacher, academic and lifelong learner, and will consider the questions: has technology changed the way we go about learning and what we actually need to learn? Finally the talk will address the question of what 21st century higher education might look like.
The lecture will take place 18.15-19.30, Building 46 (Physics), Lecture Theatre A (Room 3001). Teas and coffees will be available beforehand.
All are welcome: if you wish to attend, please register in advance via Eventbrite, here. For more information on the ILIaD inaugural conference, please visit iliadconf.eventbrite.co.uk
Many congratulations to Professor William Webb, ECS graduate and Visiting Professor, who began his term of office this month as President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
Professor Webb, who is the youngest President of the IET for over 100 years, has held a number of senior positions in the IT and telecommunications sectors. He is currently CEO of the Weightless SIG, the standards body developing a new global M2M technology. He is also a Director at Webb Search, an independent wireless communications consultancy.
His Presidentâs Address, delivered in London on 2 October, was entitled âFrom the iPhone to the IETâ. Professor Webb explored the way that engineers have changed the world - with the iPhone providing a key tipping point for this transformation - and considered how their institutions can make the most of the new world they have brought about to build a platform fit for the next 150 years.
He said: 'It is an honour to become President of the IET, an organisation that I have been involved with for many years. As one of the worldâs largest organisations for engineers and technicians, with nearly 160,000 members in 127 countries around the world, the IET is the UKâs most multidisciplinary engineering institution. This puts us in a strong position to deliver our vision of working to engineer a better world.'
Professor Webb was one of the founding directors of Neul, a company developing machine-to-machine technologies and networks, which was formed at the start of 2011. Prior to this he was a Director at Ofcom where he managed a team providing technical advice and performing research across all areas of Ofcomâs regulatory remit. He also led some of the major reviews conducted by Ofcom including the Spectrum Framework Review, the development of Spectrum Usage Rights and most recently cognitive or white space (refers to frequencies allocated to a broadcasting service but not used locally) policy. He worked for a range of communications consultancies in the UK in the fields of hardware design, computer simulation, propagation modelling, spectrum management and strategy development, as well as spending three years providing strategic management across Motorolaâs entire communications portfolio, based in Chicago.
Outside of work, Professor Webb is a keen cyclist and has completed the Cent Cols Challenge in the Alps in 2010 and the Dolomites in 2012, and this summer a tougher version in the Alps involving an average of 130 miles a day, 16,000 feet of ascent and up to 8,000 calories of effort. He has published 13 books, over 100 papers, and 18 patents. He is a Visiting Professor at Surrey University and the University of Southampton, a Board member of Cambridge Wireless, a member of multiple oversight Boards and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the IEEE and the IET.
Professor Web began his engineering career at Southampton in 1986 and after completing his undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering, he embarked on a PhD with Professor Ray Steele and also worked for his consultancy company part-time.
He says on his University alumni profile: âThat was the perfect start for me on a career in wireless communications, and my entire career direction can be traced back to my third-year Communications Module. Since then Iâve worked with some of the professors and lecturers on books and other initiatives. Some of the alumni in my year also continue to be pivotal â I ended up working with two at various times in my career and right now that first consulting company is a close partner in a current venture Iâm leading.â
Asked about his future ambitions, he replied: âBecoming President of the Institute of Engineering & Technology has been a key ambition for many years. The IET is the largest engineering institution in the UK with over 160,000 members. It provides a professional home for life for engineers and influences key policy decisions on engineering matters.
âI want to use my time there to update the Institution from one that looks back at its nearly 150-year heritage to one that embraces the new world of LinkedIn, Google Groups and open-source publications. Iâd love to be seen as a President that helped re-define the role of Institutions such that they could play an increasingly major part in our world and become much more relevant to younger members. Being President will be so all-encompassing (especially as Iâll still have all my other roles) that I find it hard to focus on what my ambitions might be beyond that. Iâd like to bridge the gap more between academia, Government and Industry. Iâd like to continue pioneering the Weightless technology until it is well-established and there are plenty of cycling challenges still out there.â
Professor Neil White, Head of Electronics and Computer Science, paid tribute to Williamsâs achievements. âIt is a great honour for the University to have a Southampton graduate leading the UKâs leading professional body for engineering. William has already contributed a great deal to the communications industry, an area of research which is particularly important to ECS, and we wish him a great year in office, and look forward to his future achievements, not only at the IET, but to the world of engineering and education.â
A student from Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton has achieved third place â and best in the UK â in the ninth annual International Microelectronics Olympiad.
Zoltán Beck, a PhD student in the Agents, Interaction and Complexity research group, was one of 856 participants from 22 countries to take part in the two-stage competition testing the skills of young microelectronics engineers. The first stage involved a written test establishing a baseline understanding of electronic design concepts and techniques. From this, Zoltán was among 42 successful candidates to qualify for an all-expenses paid trip to Synopsysâ headquarters Armenia in October to participate in the final stage of the competition.
Olympiad topics for 2014 included Digital IC Design and Test, Analog and Mixed-Signal IC Design and Test, Semiconductor Devices and Technology, and Mathematic and Algorithmic Issues of Electronic Design Automation (EDA). The final stage of the competition involved a challenging contest consisting of advanced engineering tasks requiring complex solutions.
The event is held in cooperation with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Test Technology Technical Council and its mains sponsors are Synopsys Armenia and VivaCell-MTS. Zoltán Beckâs prize was sponsored by the Enterprise Incubator Foundation.
Josh Oldfield, third-year student on the MEng Electronic Engineering programme, is one of two finalists in this yearâs competition, which has involved students from all the UKâs leading engineering departments. The winner will be announced at the National Microelectronics Institute annual dinner in London on Thursday 20 November.
Josh has held a UKESF Scholarship since 2013 and this summer completed a placement with ARM as part of his programme, working with the Verification Intellectual Property Team in Sheffield.
He is positive about the opportunities created by the UKESF programme. 'The UKESF programme has really helped my development as an engineer,' he said. âIt gave me a chance to develop and test my skills in the engineering workplace, as well as developing my interpersonal skills, and helping the next generation of students start their engineering careers.â
Josh is the fifth ECS student to reach the final of the Scholar of the Year competition since it was instituted in 2011. In that year two ECS students were named as finalists, with the title won by Adam Malpass, with Tom Dell runner-up; in 2012 Samuel Hipkin was runner-up, and last year the title was won by Ashley Robinson, who graduated from ECS earlier this year.
âWe are very proud of our studentsâ achievements in UKESF,â said Professor Neil White, Head of ECS. âThey have an excellent record in achieving Scholarships, and to have five students reach the finals of Scholar of the Year is outstanding recognition of their ability to transfer their skills from the classroom to the industrial context.
'As a department with close links to the UK electronics industry, we thoroughly support the aspirations of UKESF in highlighting the outstanding career opportunities that are open to electronic engineering graduates. We work closely with the leading companies in the UK and worldwide, and are extremely proud of the contribution that our graduates continue to make to the development of electronics.'
UKESF is a collaboration between industry, universities and the public sector, which promotes the electronics industry and its value to society and the economy, and aims to secure a sustainable supply of quality and industry-prepared graduates. It offers a sector-specific programme for employers in the electronics sector to engage with young people at school and university through to graduate employment.