Metamorphic malicious code behavior detection using probabilistic inference methods

Existing antivirus programs detect malicious code based on fixed signatures; therefore, they have limitations in detecting metamorphic malicious code that lacks signature information or possesses circumventing code inserted into it. Research on the methods for detecting this type of metamorphic malicious code primarily focuses on techniques that can detect code based on behavioral similarity to known malicious code. However, these techniques measure the degree of similarity with existing malicious code using API function call patterns. Therefore, they have certain disadvantages, such as low accuracy and large detection times. In this paper, we propose a method which can overcome the limitations of existing methods by using the FP-Growth algorithm, a data mining technique, and the Markov Logic Networks algorithm, a probabilistic inference method. To perform a comparative evaluation of the proposed method's malicious code behavior detection, we performed inference experiments using malicious code with an inserted code for random malicious behavior. We performed experiments to select optimal weights for each inference rule to improve our malicious code behavior inferences’ accuracy. The results of experiments, in which we performed a comparative evaluation with the General Bayesian Network, showed that the proposed method had an 8% higher classification performance.     

Work-role psychosocial flourishing: Its mediation role on workplace bullying and employee turnover intention

The study investigated the work-role of psychosocial flourishing attributes in countering workplace bullying behaviour and turnover intention. Data on participants’ perceptions of workplace bullying behaviour, turnover intentions, and psychosocial flourishing were collected from n = 373 employees in various South African organisations. Simple mediation modelling was utilised to determine psychosocial flourishing effects on workplace bullying - turnover intention. The results showed strong perceptions of workplace bullying to be related to high turnover intention with psychosocial flourishing partially explaining lower levels of turnover intent from strong perceptions of workplace bullying. Work-role psychological flourishing might be beneficial to workplace health and psychological safety as well as for reducing unwanted turnover.     

On the blessing of abstraction

The “blessing of abstraction” refers to the observation that acquiring abstract knowledge sometimes proceeds more quickly than acquiring more speci?c knowledge. This observation can be formalized and reproduced by hierarchical Bayesian models. The key notion is that more abstract layers of the hierarchy have a larger “effective” sample size, because they combine information across multiple speci?c instances lower in the hierarchy. This notion relies on speci?c variables being relatively concentrated around the abstract “overhypothesis”. If the variables are highly dispersed, then the effective sample size for the abstract layers will not be appreciably larger than for the speci?c layers. Moreover, the blessing of abstraction is counterbalanced by the fact that data are more informative about lower levels of the hierarchy, because there is necessarily less stochasticity intervening between speci?c variables and the data. Thus, in certain cases abstract knowledge will be acquired more slowly than speci?c knowledge. This paper reports an experiment that shows how manipulating dispersion can produce both fast and slow acquisition of abstract knowledge in the same paradigm.     

A Monte Carlo evaluation of masked visual analysis in response‐guided versus fixed‐criteria multiple‐baseline designs

We developed masked visual analysis (MVA) as a structured complement to traditional visual analysis. The purpose of the present investigation was to compare the effects of computer‐simulated MVA of a four‐case multiple‐baseline (MB) design in which the phase lengths are determined by an ongoing visual analysis (i.e., response‐guided) versus those in which the phase lengths are established a priori (i.e., fixed criteria). We observed an acceptably low probability (less than .05) of false detection of treatment effects. The probability of correctly detecting a true effect frequently exceeded .80 and was higher when: (a) the masked visual analyst extended phases based on an ongoing visual analysis, (b) the effects were larger, (c) the effects were more immediate and abrupt, and (d) the effects of random and extraneous error factors were simpler. Our findings indicate that MVA is a valuable combined methodological and data‐analysis tool for single‐case intervention researchers.     

Assessment of Differential Rater Functioning in Latent Classes with New Mixture Facets Models

Multifaceted data are very common in the human sciences. For example, test takers' responses to essay items are marked by raters. If multifaceted data are analyzed with standard facets models, it is assumed there is no interaction between facets. In reality, an interaction between facets can occur, referred to as differential facet functioning. A special case of differential facet functioning is the interaction between ratees and raters, referred to as differential rater functioning (DRF). In existing DRF studies, the group membership of ratees is known, such as gender or ethnicity. However, DRF may occur when the group membership is unknown (latent) and thus has to be estimated from data. To solve this problem, in this study, we developed a new mixture facets model to assess DRF when the group membership is latent and we provided two empirical examples to demonstrate its applications. A series of simulations were also conducted to evaluate the performance of the new model in the DRF assessment in the Bayesian framework. Results supported the use of the mixture facets model because all parameters were recovered fairly well, and the more data there were, the better the parameter recovery.     

拖延行为的干预:计划行为理论和实施意向的影响

本研究以计划行为理论为理论框架,通过实验操纵实施意向,采用日记法进行为期5天的纵向追踪,考察计划行为理论的4个核心变量和实施意向如何影响拖延行为的程度及其动态过程。134名大学生在前一周末共列举了接下来5个工作日内拟完成的668项学习相关任务,随后每天报告当天的任务完成情况。多层线性模型分析结果表明:(1)行为意向中介态度和行为控制感对拖延程度的影响,主观规范影响拖延程度的直接效应显著,但经由行为意向的间接效应不显著;(2)形成实施意向能显著降低拖延程度;(3)行为控制感和实施意向加速任务完成进程,行为控制感越强,或形成实施意向,均显著加快任务完成速度。研究结果对于如何进行拖延行为的干预有一定启示和借鉴。     

Pseudocontingencies in Consumer Choice: Preference for Prevalent Product Categories Decreases with Decreasing Set Quality

Building on theorizing about contingency inferences, the present research deals with the impact of product category prevalence on consumer choice. We argue that a category's prevalence in the choice set can signal high quality, but the validity depends on the aggregate quality of the choice set. With ever more low‐quality products in the set, high prevalence should increasingly signal poor rather than high quality. When choosing from a poor‐quality set, choices should thus favor products from the rare category. In four experiments, we show that poor‐quality sets increase the proportion of consumers choosing products from a rare category. Furthermore, we show that these effects increase when base rates of a category and quality become more extreme. Finally, Experiment 4 shows that contingency inferences partly mediate the effect of set quality on choice. The results extend previous research on contingency inferences, indicating the adaptive use of base‐rate information in consumer decision making. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

No need for an intention to deceive? Challenging the traditional definition of lying

According to the traditional definition of lying, somebody lies if he or she makes a believed-false statement with the intention to deceive. The traditional definition has recently been challenged by non-deceptionists who use bald-faced lies to underpin their view that the intention to deceive is no necessary condition for lying. We conducted two experiments to test whether their assertions are true. First, we presented one of five scenarios that consisted of three different kinds of lies (consistent bald-faced lies, conflicting bald-faced lies, and indifferent lies). Then we asked participants to judge whether the scenario at hand was a lie, whether the speaker intended to deceive somebody, and how they would judge the behavior in terms of morality. As expected, our results indicate that the intention to deceive is not a necessary condition for lying. Participants rated indifferent lies to be lies and judged that no intention to deceive was involved in these cases. In addition, all bald-faced lies were evaluated as lies. However, participants widely ascribed an intention to deceive to bald-faced lies, which thus might not apply as counterexamples against the traditional definition of lying. Besides, lies are judged as morally wrong regardless of an intention to deceive.