Web Service Trust: Towards A Dynamic Assessment Framework

Trust in software services is a key prerequisite for the success and wide adoption of services-oriented computing (SOC) in an open Internet world. However, trust is poorly assessed by existing methods and technologies, especially in dynamically composed and deployed SOC systems. In this paper, we discuss current methods for assessing trust in service-oriented computing and identify gaps of current platforms, in particular with regards to runtime trust assessment. To address these gaps, we propose a model of runtime trust assessment of software services and introduce a framework for realizing the model. A key characteristic of our approach is the support that it offers for customizable assessment of trust based on evidence collected during the operation of software services and its ability to combine this evidence with subjective assessments coming from service clients

Helping Public Housing Residents Find and Keep Jobs: A Guide for Practitioners Based on the Jobs-Plus Demonstration

This guide contains practical advice on implementing a program model -- known as the Jobs-Plus Community Initiative for Public Housing Families (Jobs-Plus) -- aimed at helping public housing residents find and keep jobs. The most rigorously evaluated employment program initiative ever tried in public housing, Jobs-Plus has shown strong potential for improving the employment outlooks of low-income workers and job-seekers. The guide draws on the experiences of six programs based in housing projects around the country that took part in MDRC's national Jobs-Plus demonstration

Event-Cloud Platform to Support Decision- Making in Emergency Management

The challenge of this paper is to underline the capability of an Event-Cloud Platform to support efficiently an emergency situation. We chose to focus on a nuclear crisis use case. The proposed approach consists in modeling the business processes of crisis response on the one hand, and in supporting the orchestration and execution of these processes by using an Event-Cloud Platform on the other hand. This paper shows how the use of Event-Cloud techniques can support crisis management stakeholders by automatizing non-value added tasks and by directing decision- makers on what really requires their capabilities of choice. If Event-Cloud technology is a very interesting and topical subject, very few research works have considered this to improve emergency management. This paper tries to fill this gap by considering and applying these technologies on a nuclear crisis use-case

Maximizing Health Care Reform for New York's Immigrants

As New York State works to implement health reform, key opportunities exist to expand coverage options for immigrants. This NYSHealth-supported report, written by the New York Immigration Coalition in conjunction with Empire Justice Center, presents the choices New York State policymakers will need to make to preserve and promote immigrants' access to health care coverage and to mitigate disparities between citizens and noncitizens in health care.The report emphasizes the options in areas in which states have a high degree of flexibility, including eligibility classifications; documentation and verification policies and practices; marketing and outreach; and oversight and monitoring. It also includes recommendations for ensuring access to care for those immigrants who will remain uninsured even after health reform is implemented. Among the report's recommendations:Shape the State's eligibility classification to ensure the broadest possible inclusion of immigrants under the Affordable Care Act. Currently, immigration status definitions, and eligibility for public benefits, vary by federal and state program rules. The report recommends the cases in which New York can apply the more expansive eligibility standards.Develop mechanisms for verifying citizenship and immigration status while protecting confidentiality and due process. Enrollment into public insurance programs and the Health Benefit Exchange will require verification and documentation of status. The report recommends specific options for verification that also maintain privacy.Conduct tailored, active outreach and marketing to engage immigrants and enroll them in health insurance coverage programs. Given the tremendous racial, ethnic, cultural, and language diversity of the State's residents, a range of tailored approaches can meet the unique needs of immigrant communities.Secure the safety net and charity care programs. Undocumented immigrants and some others will remain uninsured even after health reform is implemented, so the safety-net system of care will remain important to New York State's health care infrastructure