Category Archives: Human Behavior

Human Behavior

The quick and the breached: Futureproofing security operations – SC Magazine

Security is about rates: the adversary is innovative, motivated, funded and enjoys the advantages of asymmetry in cyber conflict. The rate of improvement in the proficiency of attackers is increasing faster than, by-and-large, that of the defenders. The first step to being futureproofed is to be present-proofed; and the essence of that is to be quick and adaptive. In a word, security needs to be more agile with people, processes, and technology.

For many, the agile R&D movement can feel a bit revolutionary or even cultish. It is, after all, a complete change in how engineering is done, shifting to user centrism, owning production code, and an emphasis on pragmatism in what we now call DevOps. The agile manifesto, though, has extremely valuable lessons and can lead to a similar revolution in SecOps: the user isnt to blame, policies have to account for real human behavior, a focus on processes. Perfection is the enemy of the good, and incremental improvement is the heart of accelerating how effective security operations are.

IOCs are no longer the star in the fight to detect and prevent advanced attacks. There will always be a role for IOCs in reducing noise, stopping the low-hanging fruit of the threat world and adding color; but security is a chaotic system with an intelligent opponent. The adversary is always on the attack and has effectively found ways around IOCs. The only time an IOC bell rings is either when the attacker makes a mistake or when they intentionally drive a diversion to increase noise-to-signal ratio.

The heart of futureproof security operations is a lean-in, detection mindset; an agile methodology; and a dedication to incremental improvement. This inevitably leads to new behavioral telemetry sources like XDR, decrementing just capture it all from the SIEM years, with an emphasis on reliable and hard-to-predict-by-attacker automation. Its vital along the way for CISOs to focus on logistics, communications, and dialog with their business stakeholders, to pick the right KPIs, and to make clear that the goal of security isnt to stop everything but rather to optimize the reduction of security risk. This is the path to going from a world where the attackers only have to get it right once to a world where they have to be right all the time, and one day to a world where even when they do everything right, they still fail more than not.

Sam Curry, Chief Security Officer, Cybereason

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The quick and the breached: Futureproofing security operations - SC Magazine

Human Behavior

Social Science Weekly: The Biology Behind Your Political Views – Daily Free Press

Psychologists are interested in what motivates and underlies the patterns of our innermost thoughts, our outermost behaviors and everything in-between. Biologists, in contrast, are set with the daunting task of demystifying the final products of 3.5 billion years of evolutionary change, in all of their staggering variety and complexity.

The overlap of the two is behavioral biology, a field with findings so surprising they threaten to shake the very core of our democratic institutions and spell the beginning of the end of the criminal justice system.

Does that sound a tad overdramatic? Perhaps, but its also true, and it may even be understating the significance of this new marriage of the social and life sciences.

Robert Sapolsky, neuroscientist and primatologist at Stanford University, published what became one of the most famous lecture series on Stanfords YouTube channel, Human Behavioral Biology, with millions of views per video. This enthusiastic embrace of science by the general public may sound surprising given the headiness of the topic, but Sapolskys hilarious quips and frequent digressions make for a fascinating if sometimes information-heavy experience. Throughout the course, viewers are treated to a series of case studies with implications so strange as to hardly be believable.

Yet, they are unforgivingly accurate accounts of the intimate connection between biology and the inner self. A spate of recent studies published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America shows that a jury verdict, even when granting or denying parole to candidates convicted of heinous felonies, can be swung simply based on whether the sentencing phase was scheduled for before or after lunch. Judicial acts of mercy may be more a matter of a dip in blood-sugar than due process, it turns out. Worse, it would seem meting out punishment is never easier than on an empty stomach.

Worse still, Sapolsky said in his video lecture that a few ounces of junk food in the morning will set in motion neurobiological processes that could ultimately make the difference between murder and rage, or the difference between a crime of passion and of coldhearted calculation.

This doesnt stop with criminal justice. In a psychiatric study in Jerusalem entitled Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow, by Israel historian Yuval Noah Harari, patients with extreme cases of clinical depression made a last-ditch effort at recovery by submitting themselves to an experimental (and consent-form laden) treatment involving subcranial electrode implants. Patients described a dark cloud of despair and an oppressive sense of worthlessness stalking them every day of their tortured lives and then feeling it evaporate at the flick of a switch.

Weeks later, one female outpatient returned to the lab complaining that her depression had suddenly returned with a vengeance. In her lengthy pre-clinical interview, she despaired that the treatment must have failed, only for the experimenters to discover that her implants battery life had depleted faster than expected. After changing it out, the dark cloud lifted again.

What does all of this mean?

It means that our deepest inner feelings and their outward expression are downstream from biology in a way many people fail to realize or fully appreciate. As Sapolsky concludes, it may even be that free will is what we call biology we havent discovered yet. The implications of these little-known ideas are nothing less than revolutionary, poised to overthrow some of the most basic tenets of liberal democracy.

The presence of smelly garbage in a neuroscience lab at the University of Arkansas says otherwise, as reported in a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. It turns out that disgust-triggering odors can radically alter the way people respond to political questionnaires. Even more surprisingly, a sense of disgust heavily biases test-takers toward right-wing responses to topical questions in American politics, such as with gay marriage, producing levels of social conservatism that can be difficult to find even in the public square.

And thats only scratching the surface. In Harvard psychologist Steven Pinkers literature review on behavioral genetics, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, he describes the many ways in which geneticists have established that our genes create temperamental biases which heavily influence our political affiliations.

His study concluded that someone who is high in the personality trait conscientiousness, for example, is far more likely to vote red and is more sensitive to feelings of ethical disgust. On the other hand, someone high in openness to experience and agreeableness is significantly less likely to do so.

This may mean that much of the purpose of a college education is to begin the process of taking back your worldview from your genes, and that the first step to critical thinking is to learn to disenfranchise your DNA. Though it may sound bizarre or disturbing, this emerging neuroscience of belief and behavior is likely to make itself impossible to ignore in the next 20 years or so. We may be able to sweep it under the rug for a time, holding back on criminal justice reform or a fundamental re-write of democratic voting procedures. But it wont last.

Are you prepared for when that time comes?

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Social Science Weekly: The Biology Behind Your Political Views - Daily Free Press

Human Behavior

Marin Montgomery’s first book with publisher releases this Friday – Iowa City Press-Citizen

Isaac Hamlet, Iowa City Press-Citizen Published 3:55 p.m. CT April 27, 2020

Author Marin Montgomery(Photo: Special to the Press-Citizen)

Marin Montgomery had not planned to publish "What We Forgot to Bury"in the wake of a global pandemic. In fact, five years ago, Montgomery probably wouldhave told you she had noplan to publish a book at all.

"I never meant to start writing," Montgomery explained. "I liked writing and writing short stories, but it was always a passion and a hobby."

Montgomery, who grew up in Newton, Iowa,now lives in Arizona working in higher education. She hadn't really considered writing books until a childhood friend who'd started self-publishing prompted Montogomery to do so.

Intrigued, Montgomery followed her suggestion. In 2017,she beganself-publishing and over the past few years, has put out roughly half a dozen books, most of which are thrillers or contain aspects of mystery.

"I love human psychology and human behavior," said Montgomery of her attraction to the genre. "I tend to have an overactive imagination, so writing has been a creative outlet for me."

It was in late 2018 when publishing company Thomas & Mercer reached out to her. By sheer happenstance, it happened to bethe same publisher her childhood friendwasworking with. Noting this instance of serendipity, Montgomerypitched Thomas & Mercersome new book ideasout of which"What We Forgot to Bury" floated to the top.

The book follows two women. One is Charlotte Coburn,a college professor acting as a witness in a trial and the other is Elizabeth Loughlin, the17-year-old daughter of the accused, who is trying to prove that Charlotte lied when testifying against her father.

With the release of the book, not only is Montgomery getting a new experience in the publishing world, she's also in the unique position of launching a book immediately after some states are begin to reopen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I'm waiting to see how it does when it releases on May 1," said Montgomery. "I know a lot of people are at home reading trying to keep their sanity and their health. It'll be interesting to see if people are still at home reading in May."

In spite of this though, her own productivity has remainedon course. Not only is "What We Forgot to Bury" on the cusp of physical publication after being made available digitally on Amazon, she's also just completed the first draftof her next stand-alone book.

"I just turned that in," she said, "but I will say that I struggled with everything going on in the world and I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me."

She's used to both traveling for her full-time job and bouncing between coffee shops to get writing done. Working from home has been somewhat straining butshe's made stil made progress. In addition to the first draft of her next book she's also put together a rough draft of a screenplay, something she felt empowered to do as a result of her publishing deal.

"Getting published has given me confidence," Montgomery said. "You always have in the back of your mind 'Why me? Why would I get picked.' When I got a publishing deal I thought 'Why not me?'"

Isaac Hamletcovers arts, entertainment and culture at the Press-Citizen. Reach him at ihamlet@press-citizen.com or (319)-688-4247, follow him on Twitter @IsaacHamlet

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Marin Montgomery's first book with publisher releases this Friday - Iowa City Press-Citizen

Human Behavior

How Banks Are Using Behavioral Science to Prevent Scandals – Harvard Business Review

Executive Summary

Even following reforms passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, large financial institutions continue to be beset by scandals. Several European banks are using an innovative approach to prevent ethical lapses before they spiral out of control. Called behavioral risk teams, they can move freely within an organization.The key competencies that all firms can mimic from these teams include: understanding how to use behavioral science and by extension OD; investigating underlying root causes instead of treating surface level symptoms; focusing on principles as opposed to rules to manage behavior, and identifying risky behavior that is tied to subcultures or departments of an organization versus an individual.

Efforts to deal with corporate malfeasance, employee misconduct, and ethical failings are falling short. Nowhere is this more visible than in the financial sector. More than $400 billion has been paid in fines since the 2008 financial crisis. But one corner of the industry offers hope: It is using behavioral science tools to identify risky behavior early on.

Some of Europes largest banks ING Group and ABN Amro in the Netherlands and RBS in London have created behavioral risk teams composed of professionals trained in organizational psychology, anthropology, forensics, and other disciplines. Each team has a direct reporting line to the chief audit, compliance, or risk executive. Teams also have the independence and autonomy to conduct companywide reviews and assess business units in which they perceive behavioral risk.

Lets look at how the RBS team operates. It engages in deep dive reviews of areas that warrant attention, zeroing in on small groups (fewer than 500 members) selected according to input from internal and external stakeholders, including members of the internal audit, compliance, human resources, and legal teams. It searches for in-depth, granular insights specific to certain subcultures where ethical lapses may be occurring.

We often ask people in the target groups, If you were us, where would you go? says Shweta Pajpani, a senior manager on the team. People have hots spots in mind from their interactions, bankwide dashboards, and measurement reports, and their insights are valuable to our team.

Once the team selects a business unit for examination, it assesses it in the following five ways:

Surveys.These go to the entire group under review and include statements that can elicit responses ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

Confidential conversations.The team holds a series of one-on-ones with employees who together make up a representative sample of the group. Discussions are conversational in tone and aimed at illuminating typical behaviors for example, patterns that may be driving poor outcomes.

Focus groups.These are held with no more than 10 people at a time. Like the one-on-one conversations, they are aimed at gaining insights into behavioral patterns in and the climate of the area under scrutiny.

Examinations of the formal environment.The team looks at policies and processes such as leadership communication, governance structures, and performance measurements.

Independent observations.Team members attend leadership and staff meetings and observe employees working at their tasks to gain a perspective on things such as group dynamics and interactions.

The teams findings are shared with executives of the unit in question, who are expected to act on any recommendations for change within a specified period of time. Because RBSs behavioral risk team is part of the banks audit function, its findings are considered audit points that need to be addressed.

Other banks take slightly different approaches, but the efforts we have studied share certain characteristics:

1. Executive sponsorship is critical, given the teams broad remit.

2. Teams are small, typically having just five to 10 members with diverse backgrounds as outlined above.

3. Effectiveness is difficult to measure, given that the goal is to mitigate risky behavior at an early stage. But one way to estimate the ROI would be to look at the cost of the team over a number of years and compare it with the fines the organization might be expected to incur if the risky behavior continued and led to regulatory enforcement actions.

4. Direct employee engagement is crucial. Although surveillance technology can play a role companies can monitor conversations, chat rooms, email, and so on people themselves lie at the core of teams efforts. They are central to helping a team understand the formal environment the risk management and governance framework, available knowledge and training, human resources, IT systems, and work procedures in the groups they are studying. They are also essential to understanding the informal environment, or culture: such things as the clarity or opaqueness around decision making, which individuals are promoted, what gives certain people status, and how engaged employees are in what they do every day.

Wies Wagenaar leads a team of eight behavioral scientists at ABN Amro. Heres howshe describes its methodological framework: We believe the behavior of our employees and leadership and the choices that they make are the outcome of all the signals they get from our organization as a whole.

Mirea Raaijmakers, the head of INGs behavioral risk team, explains,In all workplaces there is a risk that the way people behave could potentially lead to negative business outcomes. This type of risk relates to the way things are done in an organization and the invisible drivers underlying these behaviors. It is about how decisions are made, how people communicate, whether they are able to take ownership, how group dynamics and beliefs drive behavior, and how this could lead to high-risk behaviors.

The steps these banks are taking could be applied across a range of industries. That would mean taking organizational development to the next logical level: engaging employees directly to understand the environment in which they operate. With an internal group of neutral consultants who can serve as the conscience of the organization, companies can unearth the values, norms, and beliefs that lie beneath the surface and assess whether they are productive or subversive. In the case of the latter, the behavioral risk team can recommend interventions to change the organizations culture.

As the behavioral risk teams at these European banks can attest, the key to preventing ethical scandals is identifying risky behavior before its too late.

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How Banks Are Using Behavioral Science to Prevent Scandals - Harvard Business Review

Human Behavior

Coach Kim: Talking to yourself? Here’s why we all do it – KSL.com

SALT LAKE CITY Being a lifelong student of human behavior, I was curious about why we shout "jerk" (or something worse) when someone cuts us off in traffic, even though they cant hear us. Why do we scold ourselves about a mistake even when no one is around to hear it? If you walk into a room and realize you forgot something, why might you say out loud, "Oh shoot, I forgot to get the widget, darn it"?

Why do we find the need to say these kinds of things out loud and narrate why we are behaving as we are?

In one of his books, Aaron James, a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Irivne, says you can lash out at people and use words like "aha, bleh, eeww, goody, humph, oh, oops, phew, whee, yikes, or yuck" to narrate your experiences, but it might serve you to understand why. There is a payoff you get by vocalizing your experiences and emotions, and I call it the self-elucidation payoff.

The word "elucidate" comes from the Latin word "lucid" which descends from the verb lucre, meaning "to shine." So, elucidation is about shining some light on something to clarify or explain it. Self-elucidation is clarifying the situation you are having because you deserve to be acknowledged or understood in it, even just for or by yourself.

James says a person who knocks over a glass might be a klutz, but if he says whoops, then at least he knows he didnt intend the outcome and didnt do it intentionally. This is our way of clarifying or elucidating that we arent a clumsy or careless person. We are just having an unintentional experience that should not be a reflection of who we are as a person.

The funny part is we need this so badly we even do it when we are alone. We need our experiences to be acknowledged because it validates our worth and makes us feel safer.

... yelling at the driver who cuts you off (even though he doesnt hear you) is elucidating the situation and basically defending yourself by announcing to the world (and yourself) that 'it was not right to treat me that way.' This validates your worth and makes you feel a bit safer.

For example, yelling at the driver who cuts you off (even though he doesnt hear you) is elucidating the situation and basically defending yourself by announcing to the world (and yourself) that "it was not right to treat me that way." This validates your worth and makes you feel a bit safer.

There is nothing wrong nor necessary about doing this, but it could be an interesting practice to allow yourself to have experiences without the need for clarification. Instead you could just sit with the experience and notice why it feels unsafe without some vocal elucidation.

What would not clarifying this moment out loud give you? If you let go of the need to elucidate this, what could that teach you? Does it matter how you respond?

Years ago I attended a meditation retreat that included 10 days of total silence. There were incredible lessons that came from not talking for 10 full days. The most profound thing I learned was that 90% of what I wished I could say was simply explaining my behavior. It was frustrating to not be able to elucidate, avoid judgment, explain my intentions, or validate myself. Instead, I had to allow people to think whatever they were going to think, risk being misperceived, and practice knowing I was safe without clarification.

This experience gave me a different level of love and compassion for myself. I highly recommend trying it.

It may also serve you to think about why you say things like this:

These comments or narrations are also self-elucidations, but they are about acknowledging a victim experience you are having. These comments stem from a need for a sympathy payoff, even if it is only sympathy for yourself. When you declare "Yuck!" or swear out loud, you are saying, "This bad thing just happened to me and I need to clarify (even just to myself) that I didnt want this and I deserved something better." These comments are needed to acknowledge the lack or deprivation you feel and officially announce you dont deserve this.

It can also be a way to project responsibility away from yourself, which also makes you feel safer. The reality is that you didnt watch where you were walking, you werent careful about spilling, and you were careless when you dropped the glass. You were responsible for all of these experiences, but saying oops is your way of saying, "I didnt intend to be careless, so the experience is not my fault." You subconsciously want to believe this was bad luck so that it doesnt diminish your value.

What if you owned responsibility for all your experiences and saw each as a perfect lesson that was there to bless you in some way. You could choose to trust that every experience happens to educate you and help you grow, so there is no lack or deprivation.

Instead of swearing at the person who cut you off, you might just acknowledge that you do deserve better treatment but without a fear-driven need to attack the other human involved. This would validate your worth and rights, and it would be a love-motivated response instead of hate-motivated one.

Try having compassion for yourself the next time you spill on your shirt, but see if you can have the experience without explaining or scolding yourself out loud. You dont need sympathy around this because this is your perfect classroom journey. Expressing compassion and love for yourself is all the self-elucidation you need. Your value is infinite and unchangeable no matter what you experience, and you are always safe or at least you can choose this perspective if you want to.

You can do this.

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Coach Kim: Talking to yourself? Here's why we all do it - KSL.com

Human Behavior

Hilton CleanStay with Lysol Protection Expected to Launch in June – Hotel Business

MCLEAN, VAHilton has developed a new program to deliver cleanliness and disinfection in its properties around the world. In a first for the hospitality business, the company will collaborate with RB, maker of Lysol and Dettol, and consult with Mayo Clinic to develop elevated processes and team member training to help Hilton guests enjoy an even cleaner and safer stay from check-in to checkout.

Hilton CleanStay with Lysol Protection, as the program will be called in North America, will be a rigorous system that incorporates RBs trusted know-how and scientific approach to cleaning practices and product offerings, according to the company. Experts from Mayo Clinics Infection Prevention and Control team will advise and assist in enhancing Hiltons cleaning and disinfection protocols.

The program will build upon the already high standards of housekeeping and hygiene at Hilton properties worldwide, where hospital-grade cleaning products and upgraded protocols are currently in use, the company reports. The goal of Hilton CleanStay is to provide guests with assurance and peace of mind when they stay at any of Hiltons more than 6,100 properties representing 18 brands. The initiative will create a focus on cleanliness that will be visible to guests throughout their entire stayin their guestrooms, restaurants, fitness rooms and in other public spaces.

Hilton CleanStay was developed to meet evolving consumer expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that consumers have heightened concerns regarding hygiene on their journey, and trust in cleanliness standards will be critical to restarting travel.

Our first priority has always been the safety of our guests and team members, said Christopher J. Nassetta, president/CEO, Hilton. Hilton CleanStay builds on the best practices and protocols weve developed over the last several months, allowing our guests to rest easy with us and focus on enjoying the unforgettable experiences we have to offerwhile protecting our team members who are on the front lines of hospitality.

RB will bring key talent and Lysol experts in hygiene and disinfection to the multi-year partnership, leveraging more than 130 years of science-based research and thought leadership to support awareness, training and education, and product delivery and systems. RB and Hilton are also exploring opportunities to expand the program into a global partnership.

At RB we are committed to the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world, said Rahul Kadyan, EVP, North America, hygiene/home, RB. It is imperative that we protect all consumers, today and in the days ahead, as we all look forward to new ways of returning to work and leisure activities. We look forward to working with Hilton and Mayo Clinic to bring this expertise and our unique product solutions to the Hilton CleanStay with Lysol protection program.

Mayo Clinic and Hilton share intertwined histories. Late in life, Conrad Hilton became a Mayo Clinic patient and supporter. In 1972, Hiltons donation of $10 million helped launch the Conrad N. Hilton Medical Laboratory and Research Center in Human Behavior, which was the first building in the Mayo complex designed specifically for laboratory medicine. The building opened on Oct. 18, 1974, and is still part of the Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, MN.

Mayo Clinic, the top-ranked hospital system in the U.S., will apply its experience and expertise to advise Hilton hotels on cleaning protocols, training programs and quality assurance.

Personal safety is extremely critical as we reopen business and recreational activities around the globe, said Stacey Rizza, M.D., a Mayo Clinic infectious disease specialist. We are proud to bring Mayo Clinics expertise and knowledge to the COVID-19 response on a national and global scale. Mayo is looking forward to working with Hilton staff and advising them on the program protocol and training.

With the aid of Mayo Clinic medical and technical experts, Hilton is rewriting its cleaning protocols to translate the best practices in hospital hygiene standards to hotel guestrooms. Medical experts from the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Response Team will also advise on new technologies and approaches, assist in training development and create a rigorous quality assurance program.

While full details for the program are still in development and expected to be announced soon, hotel brand standards under consideration include the following:

And throughout the new cleaning process, hotel team members will be provided with personal protective equipment and enhanced training designed to protect their well-being while continuing to deliver Hilton hospitality.

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Human Behavior

Smart Eye publ : launches new technology – say hi to the AI-X – marketscreener.com

Today, Smart Eye's business area Research Instruments releases a pioneering product, the AI-X. Based on Smart Eye's extensive experience within the automotive industry, the AI-X is a standardized, yet high performing eye tracker developed for commercial research.

For over 20 years, Smart Eye has gathered experience from the automotive industry, combining a high performing solution in a cost-effective way. This knowledge is now packaged for the research field in the form of AI-X, perfectly suitable for various large studies with many subjects. The AI-X is the next generation of Smart Eye's compact and accurate eye trackers, designed for screen-based eye tracking for commercial research within marketing, UX and media.

"The AI-X is filling a gap in the marketplace, even before the launch we have received orders in addition to great interest from several new and existing customers. My team has worked long and hard to develop this product to perfection, benefiting from our experience in automotive serial production and quality demands, resulting in a superior eye tracker for commercial and academic studies. With state-of-the-art technology, Smart Eye raises the bar in this market segment" says Solmaz Shahmehr, VP for Research Instruments.

As with all Smart Eye's eye trackers, the AI-X footprint is small and portable, and with a plug-and-play installation, researchers can easily move the tracker between studies in and out of lab environments, turning it into a portable lab. The design enables researchers to switch between projects, screens and situations.

Founder and CEO, Martin Krantz, concludes:

"The eye tracker AI-X is an advanced piece of technology. I'm proud to say that our 20 years of experience, both within the automotive field but also in developing eye trackers, has brought us to this product launch where we are able to combine know-how from the research and automotive market segments into a high quality, yet remarkably smart and efficient eye tracker".

Technical information:

Available with 60 Hz frame rate

Works on screens up to 24'' Size: 268 x 13 x 32 mm (width, height, depth) Weights 147 grams Output data: gaze point, pupil diameter, time stamp

For more product information please visit http://www.smarteye.se/ai-x

For more informationMartin Krantz, CEO Smart Eye ABPhone: +46 70-329 26 98Email: martin.krantz@smarteye.se

About Smart Eye

Since 1999 Smart Eye has been engaged in development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of eye tracking technology that understands, supports and predicts a person's intentions and actions. By carefully studying eye, facial and head movement, our technology can draw conclusions about a person's awareness and mental state. Today our eye tracking technology is used in the next generation of cars and is helping the automotive industry take an important step towards safer and more environment-friendly transport solutions. In the research field, Smart Eye's solutions are providing new opportunities in complicated and real situations and are paving the way for new insights in the aerospace, aviation and defence industries as well as in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, medicine and academic research. Smart Eye's head offices are in Gothenburg, Sweden, and the company also has offices in Detroit, Michigan (USA), Tokyo (Japan) and Chongqing (China). In addition to these offices of its own, Smart Eye also has partners, retailers and distributors in several locations in Europe, the USA and APAC. Smart Eye's solutions are used around the world by more than 700 partners and customers, leading research teams, brands and laboratories, including the US Air Force, NASA, BMW, Lockheed Martin, Audi, Boeing, Volvo and GM, to name a few.

Smart Eye's business is organized in three business areas, Research Instruments, Automotive Solutions and Applied AI Systems (AIS). In Research Instruments, Smart Eye provides advanced eye tracking systems for measuring and analyzing human behavior. In Automotive Solutions, the company provides eye tracking software for integration in vehicles. In AIS, Smart Eye provides both software and hardware for eye tracking integration in vehicles, specifically designed for retrofit for public transportation and commercial vehicles.Visit http://www.smarteye.ai for more information.

Visit our investor web for more financial information: http://www.corp.smarteye.se/en/

Smart Eye is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. Erik Penser is Certified Adviser and can be reached at +46-8-463 8000 or certifiedadviser@penser.se.

https://news.cision.com/smart-eye/r/smart-eye-launches-new-technology---say-hi-to-the-ai-x,c3096248

https://mb.cision.com/Main/15057/3096248/1235488.pdf

(c) 2020 Cision. All rights reserved., source Press Releases - English

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Human Behavior

Deforestation may drive animal-to-human infections – Medical News Today

New research suggests that the loss of forest habitat increases contact between humans and nonhuman primates and therefore the transmission of diseases from animals to humans, as with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19).

A new study published in the journal Landscape Ecology has identified some factors that bring humans and nonhuman primates into contact.

The researchers point out that the continued destruction of forest habitats, for agricultural use or human habitation, would cause this contact to become more frequent, as humans and nonhuman primates would be forced into closer proximity.

As a consequence, the chances of diseases transmitting from these primates to humans are also likely to increase.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, is an example of a virus that spread from animals to humans.

According to a review in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, more than half of all human pathogens are believed to be zoonotic, meaning that they first emerged in nonhuman animals and were then transmitted to humans.

A variety of interlocking factors have increased the chances of these pathogens spreading to humans.

The review notes that global, intensive agriculture has increased, climate change has transformed ecologies, habitats have been fragmented, biodiversity has been reduced, and humans have been placed in increasing contact with wildlife, either directly or through intermediary animals, such as intensively farmed livestock.

The present study focuses on the roles that deforestation and other human behaviors may have in increasing contact between humans and nonhuman primates, from whom many viruses that currently circulate among people derive.

According to the lead author of the study, Laura Bloomfield, who is studying to be a doctor of medicine and who is also a Ph.D. candidate at the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, in California, At a time when COVID-19 is causing an unprecedented level of economic, social, and health devastation, it is essential that we think critically about how human behaviors increase our interactions with disease-infected animals.

The combination of major environmental change, like deforestation, and poverty can spark the fire of a global pandemic.

The study looked, in particular, at forests and rural communities in Uganda that exist in close proximity to forest habitats. A key factor that has put humans in contact with these habitats is the continued transformation of forests into agricultural land and the proximity of the two types of land.

In Africa, the rapid expansion of agriculture has been a leading factor in widespread deforestation. This results in small islands of forest amid oceans of farmland, reducing the distance between humans and nonhuman animals.

The authors note that in Uganda, migration patterns have exacerbated these effects of deforestation, resulting in humans and animals accessing the same small areas of forest for food, or in the case of humans, for construction materials.

This increases the risk of contact and viral transmission between nonhuman animals and humans, either directly or through intermediary livestock, which, due to agricultural expansion, farmers may keep close to forests.

The present investigation, however, did not look at transmission through intermediary livestock, it only recorded direct human contact with nonhuman primates.

Animal-to-human transmission was seen in the case of HIV, and it likely occurred with SARS-CoV-2.

As study co-author Prof. Eric Lambin, also of the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, explains, We humans go to these animals. We are forcing the interaction through transformation of the land.

As well as considering the role of deforestation in forcing proximity between humans and nonhuman primates, the authors also analyzed the ways that humans behave when they live close to forest habitat.

They gathered land use data from small-scale farmers and satellite imagery to better understand the relationship between the landscape and the farmers behavior.

The team found that farmers with more land bordering forests were more likely to come into contact with nonhuman primates, as were farmers who entered the forest to find construction materials.

This was likely because finding larger trees suitable for construction required them to go into areas where nonhuman primates spend time, increasing the chances of exposure.

The authors also observed that the smaller the fragments of forest near farmland, the greater the likelihood of contact between the farmers and wildlife mainly because these fragments shared more of their borders with farmland.

The authors suggest that buffer zones between farmland and forests could minimize contact between humans and nonhuman primates.

Furthermore, they note, international aid may be able to play a role in providing the resources that farmers are currently venturing into forests to access.

As the world grapples with COVID-19, responding to the underlying issues that force people and livestock into increasingly close contact with wild animals is crucial in preventing the next pandemic.

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Deforestation may drive animal-to-human infections - Medical News Today

Human Behavior

‘Planet of the Humans’ Review | Movies – Santa Fe Reporter

Theres a fine line between delusion and illusion.And both are part of the myth of a clean energy that magically lifts humanity from its crash course with the planet. Rather than drastically reduce our consumption of resources such as water, fossil fuels and hard-rock minerals, humans are more content to seek technological fixes that wont work anyway.

Thatis the thesis of Planet of the Humans. Move over, Al Gore. Henceforth, Earth Day belongs to Jeff Gibbs.

Gibbs directs and reports the documentary produced by Michael Moore and released on April 21. Its free on YouTube for 30 days and is a must-watch.

Just as billions in federal aid have been dumped into the economy in recent weeks from COVID-19 stimulus and relief packages, the US has poured fountains of money over the elusive concept of better energy, and were not saving the planet as much as were flailing to save our standard of living.

Gibbs highlights how the global environmental cost of mining, production and disposal of solar and wind technology dont get primetime play. Were still using fossil fuel-based infrastructure to build them. Plus, the same evil corporate overlords who run technological/industrial society (read: The Koch Brothers) run the strategy and profit bases that prop up the green energy movement.

The movie is an enjoyable if also gut-rotting indictment of Big Environment and some of its figureheads, including Vermonter Bill McKibben, and yes, Gore, in particular.

Catch candid interviews with other people youve never heard of who run solar farms, make policy and study science and human behavior. Just about everything with the word green in front of it takes a punch through this lens: biomass, biofuels, divestment/investments, natural gas and even giant mirrors in the California desert; the takeover of the environmental movement by capitalism, Gibbs says, is complete.

The planned release date couldnt have anticipated how so many people would be feeling this day, and that while were under stay-at-home orders from a public health threat, we see how the deep scar of humans on the environment can heal in perceptible ways.

There is much to mourn. And we can change. But how?

9+Must-watch cold water on a hot topic-It might burst your bubble

Planet of the HumansDirected byGibbsYouTube,NR, 100 min.

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'Planet of the Humans' Review | Movies - Santa Fe Reporter

Human Behavior

Susan Pinker: What Makes Social Connection So Vital To Our Well-Being? – NPR

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode Meditations On Loneliness

Psychologist Susan Pinker explains why face-to-face connection is a human necessity. But during this period of isolation, she says some ways of connecting online are better substitutes than others.

About Susan Pinker

Susan Pinker is a developmental psychologist and social science author. Her latest book, The Village Effect, explores how social, face-to-face interactions are critical not only for our short-term happiness, but also for our long-term health. Pinker currently writes a column on human behavior for The Wall Street Journal.

Prior to writing for wider audiences, Pinker spent 25 years in clinical practice and teaching psychology, first at Dawson College and then at McGill University.

She holds degrees from McGill University and the University of Waterloo.

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Susan Pinker: What Makes Social Connection So Vital To Our Well-Being? - NPR