Information security program development

This project reviews Arrowhead Credit Union\u27s Information Security Program structure and contents

Regulatory Approaches to NGNs: An International Comparison

The emergence of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) raises profound challenges for regulators everywhere. Different regulatory authorities have approached these problems in strikingly different ways, depending in part on the overall regulatory milieu in which they operate, and in part on the nature of the NGN migration envisioned by major market players. Also, the NGN core network raises significantly different issues from those of the NGN access network. The migration to NGN raises many of the same issues that were already on the table as a result of the broader migration to IP-based services, notably in regard to the de-coupling of the service from the underlying network. To these concerns are added profound questions related to the nature of market power. Will NGNs enable new forms of competition? Will competitive bottlenecks remain, especially in the last mile? Will NGN enable new forms of bottlenecks to emerge, especially in the upper layers of the network, perhaps as a result of new IMS capabilities? Regulators in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Japan and the United States have been forced to deal with these issues due to relatively rapid migration to NGNs proposed by their respective incumbent telecoms operators. Many of the same issues are also visible in the recommendations that the European Commission finalised on 13 November 2007 as part of the ongoing review of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications. In this paper, we compare and contrast the many regulatory proceedings that have been produced by these regulatory authorities.Regulation; Next Generation Networks; access network; core network; all-IP; competition; market power; international comparison

Regulatory Approaches to NGNs: An International Comparison

The emergence of Next Generation Networks (NGNs) raises profound challenges for regulators everywhere. Different regulatory authorities have approached these problems in strikingly different ways, depending in part on the overall regulatory milieu in which they operate, and in part on the nature of the NGN migration envisioned by major market players. Also, the NGN core network raises significantly different issues from those of the NGN access network. The migration to NGN raises many of the same issues that were already on the table as a result of the broader migration to IP-based services,notably in regard to the de-coupling of the service from the underlying network. To these concerns are added profound questions related to the nature of market power. Will NGNs enable new forms of competition? Will competitive bottlenecks remain, especially in the last mile? Will NGN enable new forms of bottlenecks to emerge, especially in the upper layers of the network, perhaps as a result of new IMS capabilities? Regulators in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Japan and the United States have been forced to deal with these issues due to relatively rapid migration to NGNs proposed by their respective incumbent telecoms operators. Many of the same issues are also visible in the recommendations that the European Commission finalised on 13 November 2007 as part of the ongoing review of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications. In this paper, we compare and contrast the many regulatory proceedings that have been produced by these regulatory authorities.Regulation; Next Generation Networks; access network; core network; all-IP; competition; market power; international comparison.

The New Network Compact: Making the IP Transition Work for Vulnerable Communities

The U.S. finds itself on the verge of a bold digital opportunity. The growing use of Internet protocol (IP)-enabled communications networks in this country could give every American -- regardless of zip code, race, disability or income -- a chance to tap into a world where voice, video and information are available faster and in more and better ways than ever before. However, ensuring that prospect exists for all remains a major hurdle.The Federal Communications Commission is now in the beginning stages of what will be a years-long process to improve the nation's infrastructure to better suit America's 21st century communications needs. But what will become of the tens of millions of Americans who already face hurdles in accessing existing telephone and broadband networks? How can we ensure them easy and affordable access to future networks? Will everyone be able to tap into robust, resilient, fast and affordable IP networks or have access to affordable and competitive voice and video services that take advantage of the IP network infrastructure? Eventually, all telecommunications infrastructure likely will be IP-based. In order to ensure that everyone will have access, policymakers will need to take pragmatic steps to understand the opportunities and barriers; ensure that everyone can access benefits; and ensure that our newest technologies continue to support some of our oldest values

Universal Service in an All-IP World

For more than 100 years, the United States has used a variety of policy tools to encourage and ensure ubiquitous, affordable basic communications service. Universal and accessible communications services have been the foundation upon which our economy, personal communications, and civic participation depend. The laws and rules used to achieve universal service, however, have evolved with new technologies and markets and now, as the network is in the midst of several new technology transitions, the question of how to achieve and measure universal service arises again. This article examines the basic question of what the “basic service” is in today’s world. For decades basic voice service provider offer the traditional copper network has been treated as the basic universal service. Voice service certainly continues to be critical to business, personal, and emergency communications, but the time has now come to also acknowledge that broadband Internet access service is itself a basic service. The days of treating broadband access as a luxury are gone, and our policies should reflect that. With that in mind, this article considers a variety of metrics by which policymakers should evaluate broadband and voice services, to determine whether new services being offered are a true step forward for everyone in the technology transitions. Additionally, this article reviews potential tools that policymakers could use to achieve universal, affordable broadband and voice service. In the past, Congress and the FCC have used tools like carrier of last resort policies, Universal Service Fund programs, and voluntary efforts by companies to increase network build-out and access. At this early stage policymakers should seriously consider all available options to determine what approaches work best for new technologies. The development of new voice and broadband access services hold great potential, but they will only live up to that potential if the United States can fulfill its promise to ensure everyone has a meaningful chance to the use the networks we have all contributed to. There are still many details to work out, but policymakers should not delay in updating universal service policies to continue to serve the public throughout and after technology transitions

Training emergency services’ dispatchers to recognise stroke: an interrupted time-series analysis

Background: Stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency in which early presentation to specialist care reduces death and dependency. Up to 70% of all stroke patients obtain first medical contact from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Identifying ‘true stroke’ from an EMS call is challenging, with over 50% of strokes being misclassified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the training package on the recognition of stroke by Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMDs). Methods: This study took place in an ambulance service and a hospital in England using an interrupted time-series design. Suspected stroke patients were identified in one week blocks, every three weeks over an 18 month period, during which time the training was implemented. Patients were included if they had a diagnosis of stroke (EMS or hospital). The effect of the intervention on the accuracy of dispatch diagnosis was investigated using binomial (grouped) logistic regression. Results: In the Pre-implementation period EMDs correctly identified 63% of stroke patients; this increased to 80% Post-implementation. This change was significant (p=0.003), reflecting an improvement in identifying stroke patients relative to the Pre-implementation period both the During-implementation (OR=4.10 [95% CI 1.58 to 10.66]) and Post-implementation (OR=2.30 [95% CI 1.07 to 4.92]) periods. For patients with a final diagnosis of stroke who had been dispatched as stroke there was a marginally non-significant 2.8 minutes (95% CI −0.2 to 5.9 minutes, p=0.068)reduction between Pre- and Post-implementation periods from call to arrival of the ambulance at scene. Conclusions: This is the first study to develop, implement and evaluate the impact of a training package for EMDs with the aim of improving the recognition of stroke. Training led to a significant increase in the proportion of stroke patients dispatched as such by EMDs; a small reduction in time from call to arrival at scene by the ambulance also appeared likely. The training package has been endorsed by the UK Stroke Forum Education and Training, and is free to access on-line

Universal Service in an All-IP World

For more than 100 years, the United States has used a variety of policy tools to encourage and ensure ubiquitous, affordable basic communications service. Universal and accessible communications services have been the foundation upon which our economy, personal communications, and civic participation depend. The laws and rules used to achieve universal service, however, have evolved with new technologies and markets and now, as the network is in the midst of several new technology transitions, the question of how to achieve and measure universal service arises again. This article examines the basic question of what the “basic service” is in today’s world. For decades basic voice service provider offer the traditional copper network has been treated as the basic universal service. Voice service certainly continues to be critical to business, personal, and emergency communications, but the time has now come to also acknowledge that broadband Internet access service is itself a basic service. The days of treating broadband access as a luxury are gone, and our policies should reflect that. With that in mind, this article considers a variety of metrics by which policymakers should evaluate broadband and voice services, to determine whether new services being offered are a true step forward for everyone in the technology transitions. Additionally, this article reviews potential tools that policymakers could use to achieve universal, affordable broadband and voice service. In the past, Congress and the FCC have used tools like carrier of last resort policies, Universal Service Fund programs, and voluntary efforts by companies to increase network build-out and access. At this early stage policymakers should seriously consider all available options to determine what approaches work best for new technologies. The development of new voice and broadband access services hold great potential, but they will only live up to that potential if the United States can fulfill its promise to ensure everyone has a meaningful chance to the use the networks we have all contributed to. There are still many details to work out, but policymakers should not delay in updating universal service policies to continue to serve the public throughout and after technology transitions

Progress Notes

https://scholarlyworks.lvhn.org/progress_notes/1283/thumbnail.jp