Business, Enterprise & Management
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/5
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Item A deep learning pipeline for age prediction from vocalisations of the domestic feline(Nature Research, 2025-10-03) van Toor, Astrid; Qazi, Nadeem; Paladini, StefaniaAccurate age estimation is essential for advancing interspecies communication but remains a challenge across non-human species. This study presents the first dataset of domestic feline vocalisations specifically designed for age prediction and introduces a novel deep learning pipeline for this purpose. By applying transfer learning with models like VGGish, YAMNet, and Perch, we demonstrate the potential for automated age classification, with VGGish achieving the best results. Our findings hold significant potential for applications in veterinary care and wildlife conservation, building on existing research and pushing forward the boundaries of automated age classification within digital bioacoustics. Future work could explore improving model generalisability and robustness, potentially expanding its application across species.Item Near Space Instability. Geopolitical Tensions, Debris Crisis, and Cyberattacks(Springer Nature, 2025-05-14) Paladini, Stefania; Jahankhani, Hamid; Issac, BijuNever before Near Space, that portion of outer space closest to Earth and crucial for human activities, has been under threat like in present days. There are several factors responsible for the current status of things, but three of them (geopolitics, debris and cyberthreats) are emerging as the most critical in terms of impact and long-term implications. What is more important, those factors are now colliding, with state-sponsored cyberattacks in outer space that risks exacerbating the debris crisis. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate how geopolitical tensions are pushing existing criticalities such as the debris crisis in the Earth Orbit and the growing threat of cyberattacks to satellite and ground space infrastructure toward an unprecedent level of tensions. Building on the analysis of existing datasets, it will present some cases for discussion and attempts a scenario analysis for the short-medium term.Item Oltre le telecomunicazioni. Sfide e Opportunita’ della New Space Economy”(Callive-Giano Editore, 2025-02) Paladini, StefaniaItem SohoNet: A Novel Social Honeynet Framework for Detecting Social Bots in Online Social Networks(AKADEMIA BARU PUBLISHING (M) SDN BHD, 2024-12-16) Ong, Yew Chuan; Paladini, Stefania; Alifan, Belal; Sambas, Aceng; Alwi, Sharifah Sumayyah Engku; Sedek, Nur Syakirah MohdOnline social networks (OSNs) are increasingly threatened by social bots – software-controlled accounts that mimic human users for various purposes. In this paper, we propose SohoNet, a novel social honeynet designed to identify, monitor, and detect these malicious entities. This innovative approach improves upon existing research by integrating multiple honeypots with a semi-automatic label engine, thereby significantly enhancing the accuracy of social bot detection. We deployed SohoNet on Platform X (formerly known as Twitter) to analyze activities during the 2022 Malaysian general election over a 14-day campaigning period. Our results show that the semi-automatic label engine successfully auto-labeled 73% of the profiles captured by SohoNet with a moderately high True Positive Rate (TPR) (0.75). Furthermore, SohoNet's overall performance (0.856), measured based on precision and capture rates, surpassed that of existing social honeypots. These findings demonstrate that SohoNet is an effective tool for detecting social bots, particularly in politically sensitive environments. However, the policy of cutting access to X API, along with the costly paid tiers introduced, poses significant challenges for future research as it restricts access to vital data and diminishes the ability to track and analyze bot behavior over time. Future work will aim to extend SohoNet's application across various OSNs to enhance its adaptability and utility.Item The Case for Space Sustainability: Crowded Orbits, Debris Crisis, and Global Space Governance(Roma TrE-Press, 2024-10) Paladini, Stefania; Zolea, SirioItem Periodontal Disease and Alzheimer’s: Insights from a Systematic Literature Network Analysis(Springer, 2024-04-19) Villar, Alice; Paladini, Stefania; Cossatis, JEvidence This study investigated the relationship between periodontal disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) through a Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA), combining bibliometric analysis with a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). Analyzing 328 documents from 2000 to 2023, we utilized the Bibliometrix R-package for multiple bibliometric analysis. The SLR primarily centered on the 47 most globally cited papers, highlighting influential research. Our study reveals a positive correlation between Periodontal Disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), grounded in both biological plausibility and a comprehensive review of the literature, yet the exact causal relationship remains a subject of ongoing scientific investigation. We conducted a detailed analysis of the two main pathways by which PD could contribute to brain inflammation: (a) the Inflammatory Cascade, and (b) Microbial Involvement. The results of our SLNA emphasize the importance of oral health in reducing Alzheimer’s risk, suggesting that managing periodontal health could be an integral part of Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment strategies. The insights from this SLNA pave the way for future research and clinical practices, underscoring the necessity of interdisciplinary methods in both the investigation and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Furthermore, our study presents a prospective research roadmap to support ongoing advancement in this field.Item Orbit Bound. Predictors of ‘readiness to space’ and government support.(Elsevier, 2024-05-11) Paladini, Stefania; Barbieri, DavideThe number of countries investing in the space sector grows by the day but the enabling factors are still either underestimated or misunderstood, due to the lack of comparative research, statistical analysis, and a few, dangerous misconceptions. Working with a panel dataset of forty years and employing methods such as survival analysis and predictive data mining (machine learning), the article shows that government support of civilian and commercial activities, more than military and defence, play a determinant role in the development of a national space sector and they are, eventually, the key factors for venturing to lower orbit and beyond.Item Sustainable practices in the animal health industry: A stakeholder-based review(Wiley, 2023-12-26) Saha, Krishnendu; Yarnall, Matthew; Paladini, StefaniaThe animal health industry provides treatments and pharmaceuticals for live animal welfare and it is essential to ensure food security and meet sustainable development goals (SDGs). Still, its complexity makes it difficult to identify the driving factors in the adoption of sustainability practices let alone offer recommendations to foster their implementation, resulting in a comparative lack of academic research in this area and several gaps in the overall comprehension of the phenomenon. Building on the stakeholder theoretical framework and adopting multi‐country field research, this article offers both a theoretical and empirical contribution, highlighting the role of stakeholder perceptions in driving the adoption of ESI (environmental sustainable initiatives) and emphasising the need for effective communication, transparency and a consistent educational framework. Our findings also demonstrate that, by adopting overarching sustainability approaches such as the ‘One Health’ philosophy, animal health firms can integrate environmental sustainability initiatives into their operations, embedding the expectations and priorities of various stakeholders. This holistic approach will not only promote the well‐being of animals and humans but also help protect ecosystems and ensure the long‐term viability of the veterinary pharmaceutical industry.Item The Cost of (Un)regulation: Shrinking Earth’s Orbits and the Need for Sustainable Space Governance(Elsevier, 2023-11-10) Martin-Lawson, D; Paladini, Stefania; Saha, K; Yerushalmi, EOuter space is infinite, useable planetary orbits are not. This makes the Earth's orbit a unique case of an Area Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) complex to address, difficult to use in a sustainable and equitable way and almost intractable to regulate at an international level. As of 2023, we remain far from attaining a sustainable orbital environment, and future uses of the Earth's orbits for new satellites constellations appear now increasingly at risk. Adopting a probability-based empirical model to project the growth trajectory of objects in space, this article argues that the sector will cross a 'critical density' threshold within the upcoming years unless strong remedial actions to clear up the orbits are implemented and estimates the potential costs of active debris removal measures. Our findings suggest that orbital sustainability is unlikely to come from technology alone, no matter how advanced or ground-breaking. A long-term solution will necessarily require a radical rewriting of the outdated, often conflicting international regulatory framework, which contributed to creating this debris crisis in the first place, shrinking the Earth's orbit to (almost) the point of no return.Item Space exploration as a propulsive industry in Levelling Up(Taylor and Francis Group, 2023-11-17) Budd, L; Paladini, StefaniaIn recent decades the importance of space exploration and its associated economy and industry have grown significantly. Beyond its scientific, technological, and engineering advantages space exploration has created significant direct and indirect socioeconomic benefits. Apart from economic growth, employment, and providing a fiscal contribution, these benefits include cultural, educational, environmental, and social benefits that can be termed community capitals. There are important distributional aspects to these benefits manifested in the way that the space sector is becoming a propulsive industry within the activity complex form of agglomeration economy. In regard to this potential impact on urban and regional economic development, it appears that the space industry can make a significant contribution to realising the policy objectives of levelling up in the United Kingdom (UK) and cohesion policy in the European Union (EU). The agency of this development is the evolution of industrial strategies and policies based upon the concept and practice of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) which evolves its space variant, Space 4.0. This article explores these possibilities from UK and EU perspectives to address the question of whether the space sector is becoming a key propulsive driver of regional policy in general and levelling up in particular.