Review of EU, national and regional innovation drivers

A policy review of innovation drivers in support of the development of the Regional Innovation Strategy

"SMEs, Information Risk Management, and ROI"

Recent research in the area of standards accreditation has shown that the rate of take up of the ISO27001 (Information Security Management) by organisations been disappointing in many Western countries, compared to the picture emerging in Asia, and the rollout of previous international standards that relate to information management, such as ISO9001. In this paper, a researcher and a practitioner from the UK investigate possible reasons for a lesser interest in pursuing certification for organisational Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) across Western countries. They also share their perceptions and concerns that current attitudes of UK of small businesses regarding complying with standards and legislation means that they may be taking unnecessary risks with their corporate and personal data under the possibly misguided notion that other priorities are more important during these current recessionary times. The authors use an economics-based approach in proposing a solution to the problem. On the one hand they review the research that has provided methods for putting a figure on the value of corporate and personal data in larger organisations, and applying the principles of managing information risk as appropriate to SMEs. On the other hand they look at economics-related issues such as market pressure, insurance, outsourcing, and the legal and regulatory matters regarding privacy of personal data. The result provides a case for showing SMEs that, apart from the moral matter of being “good for the business”, there are very sound economic reasons for an SME developing an ISMS and getting ISO27001 certified

Strategic Outsourcing: Evidence from the British Companies

Outsourcing has become an increasingly popular option for many organisations. But they vary in terms of activities being outsourced, reasons for and benefits from outsourcing, and how the decision was made. This article presents an empirical research on fourteen companies. It found out, a) in most cases it was the ‘peripheral’ support activity being outsourced with cost reduction as the primary driver; b) outsourcing decision was being made early in the process without active involvement of the in-house provider; and c) there were problems in supplier selection and management. The research identified pre-outsourcing decision process and post-outsourcing management as the two key areas that gave cause for concern, and offered recommendations for improvement

Providing litigation services; Consulting services practice aid, 93-4

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_news/1157/thumbnail.jp

General construction contractors; Consulting services practice aid, 95-1

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_news/1159/thumbnail.jp

Evaluation of Alternative Initial Allocation Mechanisms in a European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Allowance Trading Scheme

This report is intended to provide background to assist Member States and the European Commission ("Commission") in determining the allocation mechanism to use in conjunction with the Commission's proposed emissions trading programme for carbon dioxide ("CO2") and other greenhouse gases ("GHGs"). The Commission in October 2001 adopted a major package of initiatives to combat climate change. This package includes a proposed Directive on GHG emission trading ("proposed Directive") as well as a proposal for the EC to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and a Communication setting out further methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions beyond the Directive on emissions trading. This report provides descriptions and evaluations of alternative mechanisms for initial allocation of allowances. The report has the following specific objectives: - Provide a typology of alternative initial allocation mechanisms. - Describe the allocation mechanisms that have been used in previous emissions trading programmes. - Develop criteria for evaluating alternative mechanisms. - Evaluate the alternative mechanisms in light of these criteria. - Develop plant-level data that allow one to simulate various initial allocation alternatives and thus shed light on key empirical issues, including feasibility and sector- and plantlevel effects. - Provide an overview of major conclusions and implications

EXTRAVERSION-INTROVERSION AND THE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR OP COLLEGE STUDENTS APPROVED: Major Professor <^5

The results obtained indicated that there is little correlation between Extraversion-Introversion and most of the areas investigated for the population sampled. A correlation coefficient was performed on the five predictions using the male sample only, the female sample only, and the entire sample with males and females combined. Two of the fifteen coefficients proved to be significant and were discussed along with other findings of the study. Weaknesses of the study were also cited and suggestions were given regarding the improvement of similar studies which may be done in the future. EXTRAVERSION-INTROVERSION AND THE SEXUA

Anisotropic magnetocaloric response in AlFe2B2

Experimental investigations of the magnetocaloric response of the intermetallic layered AlFe2B2 compound along the principle axes of the orthorhombic cell were carried out using aligned plate-like crystallites with an anisotropic [101] growth habit. Results were confirmed to be consistent with density functional theory calculations. Field-dependent magnetization data confirm that the a-axis is the easy direction of magnetization within the (ac) plane. The magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy required to rotate the spin quantization vector from the c-to the a-axis direction is determined as K∼0.9 MJ/m3 at 50 K. Magnetic entropy change curves measured near the Curie transition temperature of 285 K reveal a large rotating magnetic entropy change of 1.3 J kg−1K−1 at μ0Happ = 2 T, consistent with large differences in magnetic entropy change ΔSmag measured along the a- and c-axes. Overall, this study provides insight of both fundamental and applied relevance concerning pathways for maximizing the magnetocaloric potential of AlFe2B2 for thermal management applications

Communicating understandings in litigation services : engagement letters; Consulting services practice aid, 95-2

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_news/1160/thumbnail.jp

Big sugar in southern Africa : rural development and the perverted potential of sugar/ethanol exports

This paper asks how investment in large-scale sugar cane production has contributed, and will contribute, to rural development in southern Africa. Taking a case study of the South African company Illovo in Zambia, the argument is made that the potential for greater tax revenue, domestic competition, access to resources and wealth distribution from sugar/ethanol production have all been perverted and with relatively little payoff in wage labour opportunities in return. If the benefits of agro-exports cannot be so easily assumed, then the prospective 'balance sheet' of biofuels needs to be re-examined. In this light, the paper advocates smaller-scale agrarian initiatives