Preservation of Policy Adherence under Refinement

-Policy-based management is an approach to the management of systems with respect to issues such as security, access control and trust by the enforcement of policy rules. This paper addresses the problem of integrating the requirements imposed by a policy with the system development process. In order to take a policy specification into account in the development of a system specification, the notion of policy adherence is formalized as a relation between policy specifications and system specifications. Adherence of a system specification to a policy specification means that the former satisfies the latter. The integrated development process is supported by refinement, where both the policy specification and the system specification may be developed under any number of refinement steps. This paper characterizes the conditions under which adherence is preserved under refinement and identifies development rules that guarantee adherence preservation. By results of transitivity and compositionality the integrated development process and the analysis tasks can be conducted in a stepwise and modular way, thereby facilitating development. Oppdragsgiver: Research Council of Norwa

An analysis of the requirements traceability problem

In this paper1, we investigate and discuss the underlying nature of the requirements traceability problem. Our work is based on empirical studies, involving over 100 practitioners, and an evaluation of current support. We introduce the distinction between pre-requirements specification (pre-RS) traceability and post-requirements specification (post-RS) traceability, to demonstrate why an all-encompassing solution to the problem is unlikely, and to provide a framework through which to understand its multifaceted nature. We report how the majority of the problems attributed to poor requirements traceability are due to inadequate pre-RS traceability and show the fundamental need for improvements here. In the remainder of the paper, we present an analysis of the main barriers confronting such improvements in practice, identify relevant areas in which advances have been (or can be) made, and make recommendations for research

Crystal Structure of an Anti-Ang2 CrossFab Demonstrates Complete Structural and Functional Integrity of the Variable Domain.

Bispecific antibodies are considered as a promising class of future biotherapeutic molecules. They comprise binding specificities for two different antigens, which may provide additive or synergistic modes of action. There is a wide variety of design alternatives for such bispecific antibodies, including the "CrossMab" format. CrossMabs contain a domain crossover in one of the antigen-binding (Fab) parts, together with the "knobs-and-holes" approach, to enforce the correct assembly of four different polypeptide chains into an IgG-like bispecific antibody. We determined the crystal structure of a hAng-2-binding Fab in its crossed and uncrossed form and show that CH1-CL-domain crossover does not induce significant perturbations of the structure and has no detectable influence on target binding

The Co-Evolution of Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice: Cooperation, Then Competition, Then Conflict

This article explores sustainable development and environmental justice as potentially conflicting policy goals. Sustainable development includes equity as one of its five dimensions (in addition to environment, economy, time, and space), whereas environmental justice focuses principally on equity. Over time there is likely to be an increasing number of contexts in which sustainability-based policy solutions do not satisfy environmental justice advocates

How do professional connections and relationships impact midwives’ well-being and career sustainability? a grounded theory study protocol

Significant attrition and projected workforce shortages within the midwifery profession are global issues. Extensive research has identified that high levels of workplace adversity, chronic stress, and increasing rates of vicarious trauma and moral injury experienced by midwives, underpin this situation. Researchers have explored midwives’ intention to stay in the midwifery workforce and identified ways to support students’ transition to professional practice. Supportive collegial relationships have been reported to be protective for new and early career midwives’ well-being and resilience. However, there is a gap in knowledge and understanding of the impact and significance of professional connections and relationships for midwives across their careers. This article describes a protocol for a study designed to explore and understand how professional connections and relationships impact midwives’ well-being and career sustainability. Glaserian Grounded Theory (GT) methodology will be used to conduct the study. Constant comparison will be used to analyze data collected from in-depth interviews with midwives at various stages in their professional careers, with the aim of understanding the significance of professional connections and relationships on their well-being and career sustainability, and in understanding the potential protections and benefits. It is anticipated that the findings and theory generated from this study will have national and international implications and provide evidence about the impacts, including benefits and any potential disadvantages, of professional relationships in sustaining midwifery careers. This will be of significant value to, as well as inform, the development of midwife retention strategies

Electronic swallowing intervention package to support swallowing function in patients with head and neck cancer: development and feasibility study

Background: Many patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) experience significant swallowing difficulties, and there is some evidence that swallowing exercises may improve outcomes, including quality of life. This feasibility study developed an evidence-based, practical Swallowing Intervention Package (SiP) for patients undergoing chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) for HNC. As part of the study, an electronic version of SiP (e-SiP) was concurrently developed to support patients to self-manage during treatment. This paper reports on the e-SiP component of this work. Objective: To develop and conduct preliminary evaluation of an electronic support system (e-SiP) for patients undergoing CRT for head and neck cancer. Methods: The study involved health professionals and patients who were undergoing CRT for head and neck cancer. The scoping stage of e-SiP development involved investigated the potential usefulness of e-SiP, exploring how e-SiP would look and feel and what content would be appropriate to provide. Patient and carer focus groups and a health professionals’ consensus day were used as a means of data gathering around potential e-SiP content. A repeat focus group looked at an outline version of e-SIP and informed the next stage of its development around requirements for tool. This was followed by further development and a testing stage of e-SiP involved the coding of a prototype which was then evaluated using a series of steering group meetings, semi-structured interviews with both patients and health care professionals, and analysis of e-SiP log data. Results: Feedback from focus groups and health professional interviews was very positive and it was felt e-SiP use would support and encourage patients in conducting their swallowing exercises. However, of the ten patients offered e-SIP, only two opted to use it. For these patients, aspects of the e-SIP application were considered useful, in particular the ease of keeping a diary of exercises performed. Interviews with users and non-users suggested significant barriers to its use. Most significantly the lack of flexibility of platform on which e-SiP could be accessed appeared a dominant factor in deterring e-SiP use. Conclusions: Results suggest a need for further research to be conducted around the implementation of e-SiP. This involves evaluating how e-SiP can be better integrated into usual care, and through patient training and staff engagement, can be seen as a beneficial tool to help support patients in conducting swallowing exercises

The Case for Multisystemic Therapy: Evidence or Orthodoxy?

In this paper, I respond to comments by Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, and Swenson [Henngeler, S. W., Schoenwald, S. K., Borduin, C. M., & Swenson, C. C. (this issue). The Littell paper: Methodological critique and meta-analysis as Trojan horse. Children and Youth Services Review, doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.07.001] on my recent article, “Lessons from a systematic review of Multisystemic Therapy”. I identify factual and logical errors in their response, show how relevant research has been misinterpreted and misrepresented, and suggest constructive new directions for Multisystemic Therapy and the evidence-based practice movement

‘Enacted in the destiny of sedentary peoples’: racism, discovery and the grounds of law

Whilst the racial, and racist, basis of the doctrine of discovery is a modern innovation, the doctrine owes much to its pre-modern forms and ethos. The finding and settlement of putatively unknown lands has long been attended with mythic and religious justification and with rituals of appropriation all of which strikingly resemble modern practice. Similarity in this case, however, serves to dramatize difference. What marks modern discovery of the occidental variety is the displacement of the mythic and religious by a combination of racism and legalism. The story of that displacement is told here along with an analysis of the poverty, not to say vacuity, of the doctrine of discovery as a justification for imperial appropriation. Since the story is told in broadly historical terms, its conception of the modern relies on the temporal ‘depth’ which historians usually attribute to this term, the discoveries of Columbus here providing something of a benchmark. But this account of the doctrine of discovery is not an antiquarian exercise, not a tale told in a now entirely discovered world, the unfolding of which may have had its reasons for regret but is now decidedly done with. Rather, this account is modern also in the sense of having current significance, of discovery’s still being an impelling force in the treatment of peoples supposedly once discovered and in the self-identity of those who would claim to have once discovered them, an identity which extends to the grounding of the discoverer’s law. Following the preponderant legal authority on discovery, my ‘case’ study here will come from the history of the United States. The parallels with the Australian situation are, it would seem, close

The Case for Multisystemic Therapy: Evidence or Orthodoxy?

In this paper, I respond to comments by Henggeler, Schoenwald, Borduin, and Swenson [Henngeler, S. W., Schoenwald, S. K., Borduin, C. M., & Swenson, C. C. (this issue). The Littell paper: Methodological critique and meta-analysis as Trojan horse. Children and Youth Services Review, doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.07.001] on my recent article, “Lessons from a systematic review of Multisystemic Therapy”. I identify factual and logical errors in their response, show how relevant research has been misinterpreted and misrepresented, and suggest constructive new directions for Multisystemic Therapy and the evidence-based practice movement