Cybersecurity in railway - alternatives of independent assessors’ involvement in cybersecurity assurance

Cybersecurity and related security management become important issues in railway projects and operations when implementing new digitalised technology. The railway industry is facing an increasing degree of digitalisation like else in society. CENELEC issued the CLC/TS 50701 in 2021 that may become the most important basis for the railway actors to manage railway cybersecurity in context of the RAMS lifecycle processes. By connecting cybersecurity to the railway application lifecycles, CLC/TS 50701 supports the identification of system requirements related to cybersecurity, and preparation of the associated documentation for security assurance and system acceptance. Like the role of an independent safety assessor acting in the safety domain of railway, the authors believe in, and suggest an independent cybersecurity assessor to be involved in system assurance and acceptance with regards to cybersecurity. This paper presents alternatives to such involvement of an assessor and discusses the possible advantages and disadvantages of alternatives based on a set of parameters and criteria. Recommendations with respect to involvement are fully based on qualitative evaluations of the mentioned criteria. Preliminary results are derived from discussions among SINTEF researchers, as well as discussions with actors from the railway industry. The alternatives have been balanced and validated against findings in the literature, that also covered approaches seen in other industrial domains.publishedVersio

Assessing the influence of the PTTC Principal’s competency in ICT on the teachers’ integration of ICT in teaching Science in PTTCs in Nyanza Region, Kenya.

The study was conducted to assess the influence of Primary Teacher Training College (PTTC) principal’s competency in ICT on the teacher’s integration of ICT in teaching science in PTTC’s in Nyanza region in Kenya. The one research question and one research hypothesis guided the study. The population comprised of 21 principals and 159 tutors. Data from the college principals and tutors was collected by use of interview schedule and a questionnaire. Cronbach alpha reliability computation was done to determine the overall reliability of the instrument. Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.90 and higher was considered as reliable. The mean, standard deviation and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the data collected and the hypothesis tested at 0.01 alpha level. The results from the data indicated that the Principal who is competent in Information Communication Technology (ICT) favored the tutor’s ICT integration in teaching science. Results of the hypothesis testing further revealed that there was a significant liner relationship between the principal’s competency in ICT and teacher’s integration of ICT in the teaching of science in PTTC’s. Based on the findings of the study it was recommended that the Kenya government should make it a priority to develop a policy to guide leaders in ICT integration, in teaching science, and Teacher’s Service Commission, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, Kenya Education Staff Institute and Ministry of Education and Science Technology should develop packages in ICT integration in teaching science for in servicing Principals prior to appointment. Key words: Competency, ICT Integration, Principal, Information Communication Technolog

PENGARUH PERSEPSI HARGA,PHYSICAL EVIDENCE DAN KUALITAS LAYANAN TERHADAP KEPUASAN MAHASISWA UNIVERSITAS PAMULANG

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui tentang pengaruh persepsi harga, Physical evidence  Fasilitas dan kualitas layanan terhadap tingkat kepuasan Mahasiswa universitas Pamulang. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Universitas pamulang dengan mengunakan metode survey kepada mahasiswa fakultas teknik mesin yang masih aktif. Survey dilakukan terhadap 247 sampel responden dengan kuesioner, yang terdiri dari 22 pertanyaan.  Data yang dikumpulkan kemudian diolah mengunakan program SPSS. VERSI 21 untuk melihat pengaruh dari tiap-tiap variabel yang diteliti. Hasil dari penelitrian menunjukkan bahwa variabel persepsi harga, physical evidence dan kualitas layanan berkorelasi positif terhadap tingkat kepuasan. Kata kunci :  Persepsi Harga, Physical evidence, kualitas layanan dan kepuasan Mahasiswa

Challenges Facing the Application of Conflict Anticipation as a Peace Monitoring Strategy in Post Conflict Mt. Elgon and Cheptais Sub-Counties, Kenya

Whereas conflict anticipation as peace monitoring strategy is one of the tools for conflict management in post-conflict situations, it has not been widely embraced with its efficacy confronted by social, economic, political, bureaucratic, diplomatic and environmental challenges. There is a further differentiation in its application between state and non-state actors at the grass roots level. The evaluation of conflict anticipation in post-conflict scenarios is essential to analyze its effectiveness and accountability. It is upon this that this study sought to investigate the challenges Conflict Anticipation as a Peace Monitoring Strategy in Mt Elgon and Cheptais Sub-counties. A sample of 350 respondents comprising male and female local residents, leaders, state and non-state actors from Mt Elgon and Cheptais Sub-counties of Kenya were considered for the study. Research objective and hypothesis were formulated based on the study constructs. A standard questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents who were identified using stratified and purposive sampling technique. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed. Statistically quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Study findings revealed that that state and non-state actors indeed face compounded challenges in the implementation of conflict anticipation

Rea Vaya BRT system progress and service delivery to commuters since implementation

Abstract: The purpose of this assignment is to measure the extent that Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has delivered transport services to commuters on the phase 1A route connecting Soweto (Thokoza Park station) and Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD) (Ellispark station). Five service quality dimensions were used to measure the level of service provided by Rea Vaya namely tangibles, empathy, assurance, responsiveness and reliability. Positivism was used as the research philosophy, which is a scientific method that tests theories using structured and measurable methods such as a structured questionnaire and observations. Quantitative data was collected for this research, in a form of a structured questionnaire and observation. 100 questionnaires were issued to commuters to complete at Thokoza park station and all 100 were collected, added to this, a stopwatch was used to measure time frequencies between bus arrivals. Excel software was used to analyse the data collected into meaningful information. This research indicates that of the five service quality dimensions only two dimensions are totally satisfied namely empathy and tangibles. The other three dimensions namely assurance, reliability and responsiveness were partially satisfied. Therefore, Rea Vaya management should make attempts in improving the element of partially satisfied dimensions. More specifically, management needs to empower officials at the stations with authority to make decisions regarding commuter grievances, better scheduling methods to solve overcrowding during peak periods and information devices both busses and stations needs to be maintained and kept serviceable. Currently Rea Vaya ridership has decreased from 35 000 commuters daily in 2010 to 16 000 commuters daily showing a decline in ridership overtime. This paints a picture that indicates that the commuters are not satisfied with the service provided by Rea Vaya resulting in using alternative transport modes. When the Rea Vaya managers fix the abovementioned findings, it is expected that the ridership should gradually increase, perhaps to even above planned carrying capacity of 75 000 commuters daily

Guía de buenas prácticas de seguridad en el desarrollo de software con base en estándares reconocidos en empresas de desarrollo de software.

Hoy en día es evidente la ausencia de estandarización y uso de buenas prácticas de seguridad durante las diferentes fases de ciclo de vida de desarrollo de software lo que aparte generar posibles riesgos de aparición de alguna vulnerabilidad en el producto desarrollado, implica grandes pérdidas de recursos debido a los reprocesos derivados de la revisión y ajuste de las fallas de seguridad que pueda tener el sistema. Estos problemas sugieren la falta de herramientas estandarizadas que faciliten el desarrollo seguro de software con un alto grado de calidad, en donde el proceso de desarrollo sea igual para todos los proyectos, con unos parámetros y actividades bien definidas que faciliten el proceso de implementación, por lo tanto se propone el desarrollo de una guía que contemple el análisis y categorización de las mejores prácticas en seguridad para el desarrollo de software descritas por estándares reconocidos internacionalmente como lo son la ISO 27001, CMMI Nivel de madurez 2, PSP y TSP.Nowadays it is evident the absence of standardization and use of good security practices during the different phases of the life cycle of software development, which apart from generating possible risks of the appearance of some vulnerability in the developed product, implies great losses of resources due to the reprocesses derived from the revision and adjustment of the security failures that the system may have. These problems suggest the lack of standardized tools that facilitate the safe development of software with a high degree of quality, where the development process is the same for all projects, with well-defined parameters and activities that facilitate the implementation process. therefore, it is proposed to develop a guide that includes the analysis and categorization of best practices in security for software development described by internationally recognized standards such as ISO 27001, CMMI Maturity Level 2, PSP and TS

Sistema eletrónico de votação

O trabalho de natureza profissional seleccionado, corresponde à implementação do projecto eVote - sistema electrónico de vota ção, o qual serviu na eleição dos órgãos directivos nacionais e regionais, para o triénio 2020 a 2022, da Ordem dos Arquitectos. Vão ser sintetizadas as tarefas desenvolvidas, abordados os desa os e a forma de execução do processo de desenvolvimento, destacando-se a intervenção do autor, em cada uma delas, e nas decisões aí envolvidas.N/

IPBrick- Plataforma de testes automáticos

A IPBRICK SA possui uma checklist com a descrição dos testes e tarefas que são executadas manualmente com a intenção de testar todas as aplicações e software desenvolvidos na empresa. Alguns destes testes são executados recorrentemente sempre que é feito um novo update ou um lançamento de uma nova versão do software principal (IPBRICK SO). Este projecto consiste na analise e compreensão de como estes testes são executados para proceder à automatização desta checklist de testes, que até ao momento é executada manualmente, por fim, gerar um relatório dessa bateria de testes executada automaticamente