Secure web application development and global regulation

The World Wide Web (WWW) has been predominantly responsible for instigating radical paradigm transformations in today’s global information rich civilizations. Many societies have basic operational economical components that depend on Web enabled systems in order to support daily commercial activities. The acceptance of E-commerce as a valid channel for conducting business coupled with societal integration and dependence on Web enabled technology has instigated the development of local, national, and global efforts to regulate criminal activities on the World Wide Web. This paper makes two contributions. The first contribution is the high-level review of the United States and United Kingdom legislation that has developed from the escalation and integration of the World Wide Web into society. The second contribution is the support for the idea that legislative compatibility, in concert with an organization’s policy compatibility, needs to be acknowledged in secure Web application development methodologies

Reinventing Media Activism: Public Interest Advocacy in the Making of U.S. Communication-Information Policy, 1960-2002

This report is a long-term analysis of citizens' collective action to influence public policy toward communication and information. The work discusses in greater detail what is meant by communication and information policy (CIP) and why we think it is worthwhile to study it as a distinctive domain of public policy and citizen action. The report concentrates on citizen action in the United States and looks backwards, tracing the long-term evolutionary trajectory of communications-information advocacy in the USA since the 1960s. We focus on the concept of citizen collective action and explain its relevance to CIP.Research supported by the Ford Foundation's Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom Program. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, or the Ford Foundation

Meeting the challenge of zero carbon homes : a multi-disciplinary review of the literature and assessment of key barriers and enablers

Within the built environment sector, there is an increasing pressure on professionals to consider the impact of development upon the environment. These pressures are rooted in sustainability, and particularly climate change. But what is meant by sustainability? It is a term whose meaning is often discussed, the most common definition taken from the Bruntland report as “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). In the built environment, the sustainability issues within the environment, social and economic spheres are often expressed through design considerations of energy, water and waste. Given the Stern Report’s economic and political case for action with respect to climate change (Stern, 2006) and the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report’s confirmation of the urgency of the climate change issue and it’s root causes (IPCC, 2007), the need for action to mitigate the effects of climate change is currently high on the political agenda. Excess in carbon dioxide concentrations over the natural level have been attributed to anthropogenic sources, most particularly the burning of carbon-based fossil fuels. Over 40% of Europe’s energy and 40% of Europe’s carbon dioxide emissions arise from use of energy in buildings. Energy use in buildings is primarily for space heating, water heating, lighting and appliance use. Professionals in the built environment can therefore play a significant role in meeting targets for mitigating the effects of climate change. The UK Government recently published the Code for Sustainable Homes (DCLG, 2006). Within this is the objective of development of zero carbon domestic new build dwellings by 2016. It is the domestic zero carbon homes agenda which is the focus of this report. The report is the culmination of a research project, funded by Northumbria University, and conducted from February 2008 to July 2008, involving researchers from the Sustainable Cities Research Institute (within the School of the Built Environment) and academics, also from within the School. The aim of the project was to examine, in a systematic and holistic way, the critical issues, drivers and barriers to building and adapting houses to meet zero carbon targets. The project involved a wide range of subject specialisms within the built environment and took a multi-disciplinary approach. Practitioner contribution was enabled through a workshop. The focus of this work was to review the academic literature on the built environment sector and its capabilities to meet zero carbon housing targets. It was not possible to undertake a detailed review of energy efficiency or micro-generation technologies, the focus of the research was instead in four focussed areas: policy, behaviour, supply chain and technology.What follows is the key findings of the review work undertaken. Chapter One presents the findings of the policy and regulation review. In Chapter Two the review of behavioural aspects of energy use in buildings is presented. Chapter Three presents the findings of the review of supply chain issues. Chapter Four presents the findings of the technology review, which focuses on phase change materials. A summary of the key barriers and enablers, and areas for future research work, concludes this report in Chapter Five. Research is always a work in progress, and therefore comments on this document are most welcome, as are offers of collaboration towards solutions. The School of the Built Environment at Northumbria University strives to embed its research in practical applications and solutions to the need for a low carbon economy

China-U.S. Trade Issues

[Excerpt] U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially over the past several years. Total U.S.-China trade, which totaled only $5 billion in 1980, rose to$387 billion in 2007. China overtook Japan to become the third largest U.S. export market, and overtook Canada to become the largest source of U.S. imports. With a huge population and a rapidly expanding economy, China is a potentially huge market for U.S. exporters. However, U.S.-China economic relations have become strained over a number of issues, including large and growing U.S. trade deficits with China (which hit $256 billion in 2007), China’s failure to fully implement its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments (especially in regards to protection of intellectual property rights), its refusal to adopt a floating currency system, its use of industrial policies and other practices deemed unfair and/or harmful to various U.S. economic sectors, and failure to ensure that its exports to the United States meet U.S. health and safety standards. The Bush Administration has come under increasing pressure from Congress to take a more aggressive stance against various Chinese economic and trade practices. In response, it filed a number of trade dispute resolution cases against China in the WTO, including China’s failure to protect IPR and afford market access for IPR-related products, discriminatory regulations on imported auto parts, and import and export subsidies to various industries in China. In addition, the Administration reversed a long-standing policy that countervailing cases (dealing with government subsidies) could not be brought against non-market economies (such as China). In December 2006, the Administration began a “Strategic Economic Dialogue” (SED) with China to discuss major long-term economic issues between the two countries; the latest SED talks were held in December 2007. In response to growing concerns in the United States over the health, safety, and quality of certain Chinese products, the Administration in 2007 concluded agreements with China on toys, food and feed, drugs and medical devices, and tires. Numerous bills have been introduced in Congress that would impact U.S.-China economic relations. H.R. 321, H.R. 782, H.R. 1002, H.R. 2942, S. 364, S. 796, S. 1607, and S. 1677 seek to address China’s currency policy. H.R. 388 would prohibit U.S. imports of Chinese autos as long as Chinese tariffs on autos are higher than U.S. tariffs. H.R. 708, H.R. 1229, and S. 974 would apply U.S. countervailing laws to China. H.R. 1958 and S. 571 would terminate China’s permanent normal trade relations status. H.R. 275 would prohibit U.S. companies from aiding regimes that restrict Internet access. S. 1919 would limit the president’s discretion on Section 421 investigations on import surges from China. H.R. 3273 would expand U.S. export promotion programs to boost exports to China. Finally, numerous bills have been introduced to address concerns over unsafe imports (including from China). This report examines major U.S.-China trade issues and will be updated as events warrant

Encryption’s Importance to Economic and Infrastructure Security

Det övergripande syftet med den här avhandlingen var att utreda om network coopetition, samarbete mellan konkurrerande aktörer, kan öka värdeskapandet inom hälso- och sjukvården. Inom hälso- och sjukvården är network coopetition ett ämne som fått liten uppmärksamhet i tidigare studier. För att besvara syftet utvecklades en modell för network coopetition inom hälso- och sjukvården. Modellen applicerades sedan på en del av vårdkedjan för patienter i behov av neurokirurgisk vård. Resultaten från avhandlingen visar att: (1) Förutsättningarna för network coopetition i vårdkedjan för patienter i behov av neurokirurgisk vård är uppfyllda. (2) Det finns exempel på horisontell network coopetition i den studerade vårdkedjan. (3) Det existerar en diskrepans mellan hur aktörerna  ser  på  sitt  eget  och  de  andra  aktörernas  värdeskapande. (4)  Värdeskapandet bör utvärderas som ett gemensamt system där hänsyn tas till alla aktörer och utvärderas på process- nivå där hänsyn tas till alla intressenter. Dessa resultat leder fram till den övergripande slutsatsen är att network coopetition bör kunna öka värdeskapandet för högspecialiserade vårdkedjor med en stor andel inomlänspatienter.The overall purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether network coopetition, cooperation between competitive actors, can increase the value creation within the health care system. Within health care, network coopetition is a subject granted little attention in previous research. To fulfil the purpose a model for network coopetition within the health care system was developed. The model was the applied to one part of the chain of care for patients in need of neurosurgery. The results from this thesis show: (1) The conditions for network coopetition in the chain of care for patients in need of neurosurgery are fulfilled. (2) Examples of horizontal network coopetition have been found in the studied chain of care. (3) There is an existing discrepancy between how each actor recognizes its own and the other actors’ value creation. (4) The value creation ought to be evaluated as a common system where all actors are taken into account and at a process level where all stakeholders are considered. These results supports the final conclusion that network coopetition ought to be able to increase the value creation for highly specialized chain of cares with a large share of within-county patients

Policies with Respect to Foreign Investors in the New Member States of the European Union and in the Developing Countries of Asia: A Comparative Aspects

The purpose of this article is to provide a comparative analysis of policies aimed at foreign investors in the new member states of the European Union as well as in the developing countries of Asia. The policies demonstrate certain similarities in spite of the fact that the analyzed world economic regions are subject to different conditions. A common feature is the opening up of economies to foreign investors, coupled with the application of certain incentives intended to increase the attractiveness of the country to foreign investors. Countries strive to modernize their economies with the help of foreign capital. The developing countries of Asia, in contrast to the new member states of the European Union, are not restricted in their policies with respect to foreign investors by the requirements of regional economic integration

Internet Casino-Style Gambling: Is It Legal in Nevada?

The State of Nevada, to retain its position as pace setter in U.S. casino gaming regulation, took important legislative steps to prepare for online gambling. When these legal efforts were discouraged or blocked by the U. S. Department of Justice a new direction emerged. This article traces the shift from implementing online gambling across state lines to intrastate gaming within Nevada with hand-held devices in auxiliary areas of a casino complex beyond the casino floor. Regulatory issues are raised and prospects for inaugurating interactive gaming are discussed

U.S. Trade in Services: Trends and Policy Issues

[Excerpt] This report provides background information and analysis on U.S. international trade in services. It analyzes policy issues before the United States, especially relating to negotiating international disciplines on trade in services and dealing complexities in measuring trade in services. The report also examines emerging issues and current and potential trade agreements, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP)