Evidence-based Accountability Audits for Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is known for its on-demand service provisioning and has now become mainstream. Many businesses as well as individuals are using cloud services on a daily basis. There is a big variety of services that ranges from the provision of computing resources to services such as productivity suites and social networks. The nature of these services varies heavily in terms of what kind of information is being out-sourced to the cloud provider. Often, that data is sensitive, for instance when PII is being shared by an individual. Also, businesses that move (parts of) their processes to the cloud are actively participating in a major paradigm shift from having data on-premise to transfering data to a third-party provider. However, many new challenges come along with this trend, which are closely tied to the loss of control over data. When moving to the cloud, direct control over geographical storage location, who has access to it and how it is shared and processed is given up. Because of this loss of control, cloud customers have to trust cloud providers that they treat their data in an appropriate and responsible way. Cloud audits can be used to check how data has been processed in the cloud (i.e., by whom, for what purpose) and whether or not this happened in compliance with what has been defined in agreed-upon privacy and data storage, usage and maintenance (i.e., data handling) policies. This way, a cloud customer can regain some of the control he has given up by moving to the cloud. In this thesis, accountability audits are presented as a way to strengthen trust in cloud computing by providing assurance about the processing of data in the cloud according to data handling and privacy policies. In cloud accountability audits, various distributed evidence sources need to be considered. The research presented in this thesis discusses the use of various heterogeous evidence sources on all cloud layers. This way, a complete picture of the actual data handling practices that is based on hard facts can be presented to the cloud consumer. Furthermore, this strengthens transparency of data processing in the cloud, which can lead to improved trust in cloud providers, if they choose to adopt these mechanisms in order to assure their customers that their data is being handled according to their expectations. The system presented in this thesis enables continuous auditing of a cloud provider's adherence to data handling policies in an automated way that shortens audit intervals and that is based on evidence that is produced by cloud subsystems. An important aspect of many cloud offerings is the combination of multiple distinct cloud services that are offered by independent providers. Data is thereby freuqently exchanged between the cloud providers. This also includes trans-border flows of data, where one provider may be required to adhere to more strict data protection requirements than the others. The system presented in this thesis addresses such scenarios by enabling the collection of evidence at providers and evaluating it during audits. Securing evidence quickly becomes a challenge in the system design, when information that is needed for the audit is deemed sensitive or confidential. This means that securing the evidence at-rest as well as in-transit is of utmost importance, in order not to introduce a new liability by building an insecure data heap. This research presents the identification of security and privacy protection requirements alongside proposed solutions that enable the development of an architecture for secure, automated, policy-driven and evidence-based accountability audits

Identifying polymers that support the growth and differentiation of adipose derived pericytes for use in auricular reconstruction

In the United Kingdom 1 in 6 - 8000 children are born missing one or both of their ears. The surgical technique most commonly used to reconstruct ears requires surgeons to remove ribs from the patient, and the cartilage from the ribs is used to carve a new ear. This procedure involves many risks including significant pain, punctured lung and chest deformity. Therefore the ability to ‘grow’ an ear would be a major advancement. Stem cells show huge promise in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Approved stem cell technology must be evaluated with regards to safety, purity, identity, potency and efficacy prior to biologic licensing and clinical use. Therefore, access to ethically sourced tissue for research is fundamental to the successful delivery of novel therapies. Adipose tissue provides an abundant and accessible source of stem cells for clinical translation. Within the first section of this thesis, the perceptions and attitudes of patients towards the donation and use of adipose tissue for research are sought. Based on this information, a tissue bank with all appropriate ethical approval to collect, process, store and distribute adipose tissue and adipose derived stem cells is established. The second part of this thesis demonstrates the specific identity, location and frequency of stem cells within adipose tissue; revealing them to reside in a perivascular niche. Using this data, protocols to rapidly purify stem cells from adipose tissue using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting are developed. The frequency of cells, and both the patient and procedure based variables that can affect this yield are also examined. The final section of this thesis uses a high-throughput microarray platform to screen thousands of polymers to identify potential substrates that can support the attachment, stable proliferation and subsequent differentiation of stem cells purified from adipose tissue. From the initial screen, 5 distinct polymers have been identified, characterised and their effects on the stem cells examined and quantified. Combined together, these elements provide significant advances in our understanding, and the basis for on going research to deliver a tissue engineered ear for use in human ear reconstruction

Essays on trade liberalization and the environment in China

This thesis is concerned with understanding the relationship between trade liberalization and the environment in the context of China. Four empirical essays are conducted to investigate different aspects of the nexus. We first look at the changing patterns of revealed comparative advantage in manufacturing industries for China and other countries to examine whether dirty industries have `migrated' from developed countries to China as a result of an environmental regulatory gap. The attention is then turned to the determinants of trade specialization and the role played by environmental stringency using cross-industry regressions within a Heckseher-Ohlin framework. The environmental consequences of trade liberalization are evaluated at both the industrial and provincial level. Next, Environmental Input-Output Analysis (EIOA) is used to measure the `potential' and `actual' pollution content (for three air pollutants, C02, SO2, NO, 1) in imports and exports by industry and overall. In the last essay, we evaluate different and countervailing effects (scale, income and trade-induced composition effects) of trade's impact on the environment using Chinese provincial data. Some generalizations can be made from the studies. Firstly, little evidence is found to support the feared `Dirty Industry Migration' phenomenon from North (developed countries) to South (e. g. China) at ISIC 3 digit level for the past three decades. Secondly, environmental stringency seems to be a negative effect on trade performance at cross-industry level in China. Thirdly, China `saves' in environmental terms through trade and its exports structure is cleaner than that of imports; however, these two conclusions are completely overturned when technology heterogeneity across countries is allowed for. Finally, the channels through which trade liberalization can affect the environment are conflicting and there is no clear cut answer to the question 'is freer trade good or bad to the environment'

Ethical design: a foundation for visual communication.

The central original contribution to knowledge proposed by this thesis is the setting forth of a conceptualisation of ethical theory specifically in relation to design, with a focus on visual communication design. Building on earlier work by design theorist Clive Dilnot in the area of design ethics and on philosopher Giorgio Agambens formulation of the philosophical concept of potentiality, a way of thinking about the relationship between design and ethics is proposed which concludes that design is in fact always inherently ethical. However, this conception of ethical design purposefully leaves questions of the qualification of good and bad unresolved, stating only that the ethical is the prerequisite condition in which both good and bad become possibilities. Designs significantly unethical capability to suppress and anaesthetise individuals ethical experience is highlighted through a proposal of a process of an/aesth/ethics. Observation of the relationship between design and ethics in the real world through a series of interviews demonstrates something of the complexity of designs relationship with ethics and the diverse range of positions, beliefs, attitudes and paradoxes abounding within the design profession when it comes to addressing the question of good design practice. Six sites of ethics within contemporary design discourse are introduced and discussed. The ethicality of design practices in relation to these sites are then analysed through the lens of the proposed ethical framework: identifying strengths, weaknesses and potentials within these observed strategies. The way of thinking about ethical design proposed here demonstrates potential in contributing to designers ability to critically consider the ethicality of their own practices. From this foundation they may be better equipped to begin addressing the question of the qualification of the goodness of design. In conclusion, proposals are made for how this framework could be practically developed and used to support and encourage ethical design in the real world

Essays on trade liberalization and the environment in China

This thesis is concerned with understanding the relationship between trade liberalization and the environment in the context of China. Four empirical essays are conducted to investigate different aspects of the nexus. We first look at the changing patterns of revealed comparative advantage in manufacturing industries for China and other countries to examine whether dirty industries have `migrated' from developed countries to China as a result of an environmental regulatory gap. The attention is then turned to the determinants of trade specialization and the role played by environmental stringency using cross-industry regressions within a Heckseher-Ohlin framework. The environmental consequences of trade liberalization are evaluated at both the industrial and provincial level. Next, Environmental Input-Output Analysis (EIOA) is used to measure the `potential' and `actual' pollution content (for three air pollutants, C02, SO2, NO, 1) in imports and exports by industry and overall. In the last essay, we evaluate different and countervailing effects (scale, income and trade-induced composition effects) of trade's impact on the environment using Chinese provincial data. Some generalizations can be made from the studies. Firstly, little evidence is found to support the feared `Dirty Industry Migration' phenomenon from North (developed countries) to South (e. g. China) at ISIC 3 digit level for the past three decades. Secondly, environmental stringency seems to be a negative effect on trade performance at cross-industry level in China. Thirdly, China `saves' in environmental terms through trade and its exports structure is cleaner than that of imports; however, these two conclusions are completely overturned when technology heterogeneity across countries is allowed for. Finally, the channels through which trade liberalization can affect the environment are conflicting and there is no clear cut answer to the question 'is freer trade good or bad to the environment'

Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation

'There was a strange stillness. The birds for example — where had they gone? Many people spoke about them, puzzled and disturbed. The feeding stations in the backyards were deserted. The few birds seen anywhere were moribund: they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices ... only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh.' The book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson is mainly about the impacts of chemicals (in particular in particular dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane also known as DDT) on the environment and human health. Indeed, the close association between humans and birds remains very apt. Representing the only two warm-blooded groups of life on Earth, mammals and birds share the same environments and threats. Carson's claim that she lived in 'an era dominated by industry, in which the right to make a dollar at whatever cost is seldom challenged' still resonates strongly with the problems that societies face all over the world. One chapter heading, 'The obligation to endure', derived from the French biologist and philosopher Jean Rostand's famous observation that, 'the obligation to endure gives us the right to know'. United States President John F. Kennedy responded to the challenge posed by Carson by investigating DDT, leading to its complete ban in the US. The ban was followed by a range of institutions and regulations concerned with environmental issues in the US and elsewhere, driven by public demand for knowledge and protection. DDT was the primary tool used in the first global malaria eradication programme during the 1950s and 1960s. The insecticide is sprayed on the inner walls and ceilings of houses. Malaria has been successfully eliminated from many regions but remains endemic in large parts of the world. DDT remains one of the 12 insecticides — and the only organochlorine compound — currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), and under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, countries may continue to use DDT. Global annual use of DDT for disease vector control is estimated at more than 5 000 tonnes. It is clear that the social conscience awakened by Rachel Carson 50 years ago gave momentum to a groundswell of actions and interventions that are slowly but steadily making inroads at myriad levels. Chapter 17 of her book, 'The other road' reminds the reader of the opportunities that should have been seized much earlier. With more than 10 % of bird species worldwide now threatened in one way or another, it is clear that we missed early warnings or failed to act on them. Will we continue to miss signposts to 'other roads'? Are our obligations to endure met by our rights to know? As Carson said 50 years ago: 'The choice, after all, is ours to make.

The Music Sound

A guide for music: compositions, events, forms, genres, groups, history, industry, instruments, language, live music, musicians, songs, musicology, techniques, terminology , theory, music video. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music