7,617 research outputs found
SMEs and Certified Management Standards: The Effect of Motives and Timing on Implementation and Commitment
Existing research on certifiable management standards (CMS) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) tends to focus on large companies and is characterised by disagreement about the role of these standards as drivers of CSR. We contribute to the literature by shifting the analytical focus to the behaviour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that subscribe to multiple CSR related standards. We argue that, in respect of motive and commitment, SMEs are not as different from large companies as the literature suggests, as they are guided by similar institutional and economic motives. Results, based on ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified SMEs in Greece, demonstrate that later adopters are more susceptible to coercive and mimetic motives and are less likely to commit fully to the CMS requirements, while earlier adopters react to normative motives and considerations of internal efficiency gains and tend to carry out CMS requirements with greater diligence
Web-based monitoring tools for Resistive Plate Chambers in the CMS experiment at CERN
The Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) are used in the CMS experiment at the trigger level and also in the standard offline muon reconstruction. In order to guarantee the quality of the data collected and to monitor online the detector performance, a set of tools has been developed in CMS which is heavily used in the RPC system. The Web-based monitoring (WBM) is a set of java servlets that allows users to check the performance of the hardware during data taking, providing distributions and history plots of all the parameters. The functionalities of the RPC WBM monitoring tools are presented along with studies of the detector performance as a function of growing luminosity and environmental conditions that are tracked over time
E-learning Aspects of NODES Project
The NODES project aims at promoting the use, in adult training/lifelong learning, of
multimedia knowledge, in order to facilitate competitiveness, employability and mobility of adults
who are victims of the digital divide or of some of its components, such as distance, initial level of
knowledge, language, and use of complex technologies. Our task in the project is studying the existing
free or commercial licenses e-learning software. The aim of the investigation of these systems is
surveying the most important functional features, modules, standards, and hardware and software
requirements. After the comparison of the e-Learning systems by several methods, have to evaluate the
most important parameters, which are suitable suggestion for the project management. These
parameters were evaluated. Reviewing these parameters, our suggestion is the Moodle or the aTutor
Object level physics data replication in the Grid
To support distributed physics analysis on a scale as foreseen by the LHC experiments, 'Grid' systems are needed that manage and streamline data distribution, replication, and synchronization. We report on the development of a tool that allows large physics datasets to be managed and replicated at the granularity level of single objects. Efficient and convenient support for data extraction and replication at the level of individual objects and events will enable for types of interactive data analysis that would be too inconvenient or costly to perform with tools that work on a file level only. Our tool development effort is intended as both a demonstrator project for various types of existing Grid technology, and as a research effort to develop Grid technology further. The basic use case supported by our tool is one in which a physicist repeatedly selects some physics objects located at a central repository, and replicates them to a local site. The selection can be done using 'tag' or 'ntuple' analysis at the local site. The tool replicates the selected objects, and merges all replicated objects into a single single coherent 'virtual' dataset. This allows all objects to be used together seamlessly, even if they were replicated at different times or from different locations. The version of the tool that is reported on in this paper replicates ORCA based physics data created by CMS in its ongoing high level trigger design studies. The basic capabilities and limitations of the tool are discussed, together with some performance results. Some tool internals are also presented. Finally we will report on experiences so far and on future plans
Staying Connected: A Progress Report: Reimbursement Under the Telemedicine Development Act of 1996
Evaluates the implementation of provisions for telemedicine coverage and payment policies in California's public and private health plans. Compares findings with legislative intent and outlines challenges for telehealth adoption and recommendations
The Value of User-Visible Internet Cryptography
Cryptographic mechanisms are used in a wide range of applications, including
email clients, web browsers, document and asset management systems, where
typical users are not cryptography experts. A number of empirical studies have
demonstrated that explicit, user-visible cryptographic mechanisms are not
widely used by non-expert users, and as a result arguments have been made that
cryptographic mechanisms need to be better hidden or embedded in end-user
processes and tools. Other mechanisms, such as HTTPS, have cryptography
built-in and only become visible to the user when a dialogue appears due to a
(potential) problem. This paper surveys deployed and potential technologies in
use, examines the social and legal context of broad classes of users, and from
there, assesses the value and issues for those users
Choosing a Health Care Provider: The Role of Quality Information
Reviews research on the adequacy of the information available on provider quality; the type of information consumers seek in choosing physicians, physician groups, and hospitals; and their attitudes about, awareness of, and use of that information
Montefiore Medical Center: Integrated Care Delivery for Vulnerable Populations
Describes a system of hospitals and community- and school-based clinics tailored to low-income patients through systemwide strategies, high-quality specialty and hospital care, and integrated care delivery via care management and information technology
Towards a Flexible Intra-Trustcenter Management Protocol
This paper proposes the Intra Trustcenter Protocol (ITP), a flexible and
secure management protocol for communication between arbitrary trustcenter
components. Unlike other existing protocols (like PKCS#7, CMP or XKMS) ITP
focuses on the communication within a trustcenter. It is powerful enough for
transferring complex messages which are machine and human readable and easy to
understand. In addition it includes an extension mechanism to be prepared for
future developments.Comment: 12 pages, 0 figures; in The Third International Workshop for Applied
PKI (IWAP2004
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