̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - ̽��ֱ�� of Helsinki

Photos suggest rhino horns have shrunk over the past century

jg533 — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 08:51:41 +0000

Cambridge researchers have made the first ever measurements that show rhinoceros horns have gradually decreased in size over time.

Online tool can measure individuals’ likelihood to fall for internet scams

sc604 — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 10:21:58 +0000

̽��ֱ��psychometric tool, developed by researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Helsinki, asks participants to answer a range of questions in order to measure how likely they are to respond to persuasive techniques. ̽��ֱ��test, called Susceptibility to Persuasion II (StP-II) is freely available and consists of the StP-II scale and several other questions to understand persuadability better. A brief, automated, interpretation of the results is displayed at the end of the questionnaire.

̽��ֱ��results of the test can be used to predict who will be more likely to become a victim of cybercrime, although the researchers say that StP-II could also be used for hiring in certain professions, for the screening of military personnel or to establish the psychological characteristics of criminal hackers. Their results are reported in the journal PLOS One.

“Scams are essentially like marketing offers, except they’re illegal,” said paper’s first author Dr David Modic from Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology. “Just like in advertising, elements of consumer psychology and behavioural economics all come into the design of an online scam, which is why it’s useful to know which personality traits make people susceptible to them.”

Modic and his colleagues at the ̽��ֱ�� of Exeter designed an initial version of the test five years ago that yielded solid results but was not sufficiently detailed. ̽��ֱ��new version is far more comprehensive and robust.

“We are not aware of an existing scale that would measure all the constructs that are part of StP-II,” said Modic, who is also a senior member of King’s College, Cambridge. “There are existing scales that measure individual traits, but when combined, the sheer length of these scales would present the participant with a psychometric tool that is almost unusable.”

̽��ֱ��questions in StP-II fall into 10 categories, measuring different traits which might make people more susceptible to fraud: the ability to premeditate, consistency, sensation seeking, self-control, social influence, need for similarity, attitude towards risk, attitude towards advertising, cognition and uniqueness. Participants are given a score out of seven in each of the ten areas.

Using a large data set obtained from a collaboration with the BBC, the researchers found that the strongest predictor was the ability to premeditate: individuals who fail to consider the possible consequences of a particular action are more likely to engage with a fraudster. However, they found that the likelihood of falling for one of the measured categories of Internet fraud is partially explained by at least one of the mechanisms in StP-II.

“Over the past ten years, crime, like everything else, has moved online,” said co-author Professor Ross Anderson, also from Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science. “This year, about a million UK households will be the victim of typical household crime, such as burglary, where the average victim is an elderly working-class woman. However, now 2.5 million households will be the victims of an online or electronic scam, where the victims are younger and more educated. Crime is moving upmarket.”

“Scams have been around for hundreds of years, and over the centuries, they haven’t really changed that much – the only difference now is with the internet, it requires a lot less effort to do it,” said Modic.

̽��ֱ��researchers say that despite the changing demographics of crime victims, there isn’t a ‘typical victim of cybercrime. “Older generations might be seen as less internet-savvy, but younger generations are both more exposed to scams and might be seen as more impulsive,” said co-author Jussi Palomӓki, from the ̽��ֱ�� of Helsinki’s Cognitive Science Unit. “There isn’t a specific age range – there are many different risk factors.”

“ ̽��ֱ��immediate benefit of StP-II is that people will get an indication of the sorts of things they should look out for – I’m not saying it’s a sure-fire way that they will not be scammed, but there are things they should be aware of,” said Modic. “StP-II doesn’t just measure how likely you are to fall for scams, it’s how likely you are to change your behaviour.”

Ross Anderson’s blog on the paper can be found at: https://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2018/03/16/we-will-make-you-like-our-research/.

Reference:
David Modic, Ross Anderson and Jussi Palomäki. ‘We will make you like our research: ̽��ֱ��development of a susceptibility-to-persuasion scale.’ PLOS ONE (2018). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194119

Researchers have developed an online questionnaire which measures a range of personality traits to identify individuals who are more likely to fall victim to internet scams and other forms of cybercrime.

Scams have been around for hundreds of years, and over the centuries, they haven’t really changed that much – the only difference now is with the internet, it requires a lot less effort to do it.

David Modic

Photo by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Global carnivore conservation at risk

sc604 — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 07:00:00 +0000

A new study confirms that the global conservation of carnivores is at risk. ̽��ֱ��paper, published in the journal Scientific Reports, models future global land conversion and estimates this will lead to significant range loss and conflict with local people in regions critical for the survival of already threatened carnivore species.

Organised by an international team of conservation and land use change scientists, including from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, the study concludes that immediate action is needed to prevent habitat loss and conflict with humans in priority areas for carnivore conservation.

Mammalian carnivores have suffered the biggest range contraction of all biodiversity, and are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation.

“We assessed how expected land use change will affect priority areas for carnivore conservation in the future,” said study lead author Dr Enrico Di Minin from the ̽��ֱ�� of Helsinki. “ ̽��ֱ��analysis revealed that carnivores will suffer considerable range losses in the future. Worryingly, it seems that the most important areas for carnivore conservation are located in areas where human-carnivore conflicts are likely to be most severe.”

Presently, South American, African, and South East Asian countries, as well as India, were found to contribute mostly to carnivore conservation. While some of the most charismatic species, such as the tiger and giant panda were found to be at high risk under future land use change, smaller, less charismatic species, with small ranges were found to be equally threatened by habitat loss.

Carnivores include some of the most iconic species that help generate funding for biodiversity conservation and deliver important benefits to humans. Protecting carnivores will conserve many other bird, amphibian, reptile and mammal species that live in priority areas for carnivore conservation.

“International targets have proposed that 17 percent of land should be set aside for conservation,” said study co-author Professor Nigel Leader-Williams from Cambridge’s Department of Geography. “However, we show that this will prove inadequate for maintaining viable populations of carnivores, as well as other biodiversity. Therefore, new strategies that involve better integration of people and carnivores inside and outside of protected areas will be needed if further species of carnivores are not to become extinct.”

“Carnivores like big cats have been squeezed out of their ranges at alarming rates for decades now, and we can now see that habitat loss and its shock waves on wildlife are only on the rise,” said study co-author Dr Luke Hunter, President and Chief Conservation Officer of Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation. “In order to protect our planet’s landscape guardians, a far greater financial investment from the international community is needed for range-wide conservation approaches, both within and outside of protected areas where carnivores roam.”

Co-author Professor Rob Slotow, from the ̽��ֱ�� of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, emphasised that reducing conflict with humans outside of protected areas is pivotal. “Most priorities for carnivore conservation are in areas in the global south where human populations are increasing in size, agriculture is intensifying, and human development needs are the highest. There is need to implement conservation strategies that promote tolerance for carnivores outside protected areas and focus on the benefits that people derive from these species.”

Reference:
Enrico Di Minin et al. ‘Global Priorities for national carnivore conservation under land use change.’ Scientific Reports (2016). DOI: 10.1038/srep23814

Adapted from ̽��ֱ�� of Helsinki press release.

Shrinking habitat, increased conflict projected in regions critical to survival of threatened apex predators.

New strategies that involve better integration of people and carnivores inside and outside of protected areas will be needed if further species of carnivores are not to become extinct.

Nigel Leader-Williams

David Dennis

Lion Cub with Mother in the Serengeti

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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Banning trophy hunting could do more harm than good

sc604 — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 06:24:31 +0000

Banning trophy hunting would do more harm than good in African countries that have little money to invest in critical conservation initiatives, argue researchers from the Universities of Cambridge, Adelaide and Helsinki. Trophy hunting can be an important conservation tool, provided it can be done in a controlled manner to benefit biodiversity conservation and local people. Where political and governance structures are adequate, trophy hunting can help address the ongoing loss of species.

̽��ֱ��researchers have developed a list of 12 guidelines that could address some of the concerns about trophy hunting and enhance its contribution to biodiversity conservation. Their paper is published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

“ ̽��ֱ��story of Cecil the lion, who was killed by an American dentist in July 2015, shocked people all over the world and reignited debates surrounding trophy hunting,” said Professor Corey Bradshaw of the ̽��ֱ�� of Adelaide, the paper’s senior author.

“Understandably, many people oppose trophy hunting and believe it is contributing to the ongoing loss of species; however, we contend that banning the US$217 million per year industry in Africa could end up being worse for species conservation,” he said.

Professor Bradshaw says trophy hunting brings in more money and can be less disruptive than ecotourism. While the majority of animals hunted in sub-Saharan Africa are more common and less valuable species, the majority of hunting revenue comes from a few valuable species, particularly the charismatic ‘Big Five’: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and black or white rhinoceros.

“Conserving biodiversity can be expensive, so generating money is essential for environmental non-government organisations, conservation-minded individuals, government agencies and scientists,” said co-author Dr Enrico Di Minin from the ̽��ֱ�� of Helsinki.

“Financial resources for conservation, particularly in developing countries, are limited,” he said. “As such, consumptive (including trophy hunting) and non-consumptive (ecotourism safaris) uses are both needed to generate funding. Without such these, many natural habitats would otherwise be converted to agricultural or pastoral uses.

“Trophy hunting can also have a smaller carbon and infrastructure footprint than ecotourism, and it generates higher revenue from a lower number of uses.”

However, co-author Professor Nigel Leader-Williams from Cambridge’s Department of Geography said there is a need for the industry to be better regulated.

“There are many concerns about trophy hunting beyond the ethical that currently limit its effectiveness as a conservation tool,” he said. “One of the biggest problems is that the revenue it generates often goes to the private sector and rarely benefits protected-area management and the local communities. However, if this money was better managed, it would provide much needed funds for conservation.”

̽��ֱ��authors’ guidelines to make trophy hunting more effective for conservation are:

Mandatory levies should be imposed on safari operators by governments so that they can be invested directly into trust funds for conservation and management;
Eco-labelling certification schemes could be adopted for trophies coming from areas that contribute to broader biodiversity conservation and respect animal welfare concerns;
Mandatory population viability analyses should be done to ensure that harvests cause no net population declines;
Post-hunt sales of any part of the animals should be banned to avoid illegal wildlife trade;
Priority should be given to fund trophy hunting enterprises run (or leased) by local communities;
Trusts to facilitate equitable benefit sharing within local communities and promote long-term economic sustainability should be created;
Mandatory scientific sampling of hunted animals, including tissue for genetic analyses and teeth for age analysis, should be enforced;
Mandatory 5-year (or more frequent) reviews of all individuals hunted and detailed population management plans should be submitted to government legislators to extend permits;
There should be full disclosure to public of all data collected (including levied amounts);
Independent government observers should be placed randomly and without forewarning on safari hunts as they happen;
Trophies must be confiscated and permits are revoked when illegal practices are disclosed; and
Backup professional shooters and trackers should be present for all hunts to minimise welfare concerns.

Reference:
E. Di Minin et al. ‘Banning Trophy Hunting Will Exacerbate Biodiversity Loss.’ Trends in Ecology & Evolution (2015). DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2015.12.006

Adapted from a ̽��ֱ�� of Adelaide press release.

Trophy hunting shouldn’t be banned, but instead it should be better regulated to ensure funds generated from permits are invested back into local conservation efforts, according to new research.

There are many concerns about trophy hunting beyond the ethical that currently limit its effectiveness as a conservation tool.

Nigel Leader-Williams

Kevin Pluck

Lion waiting in Namibia

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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