113 research outputs found
Impact of corporate governance on information security practices in (UK) financial industry
The empirical study of this paper focuses particularly on the UK financial industry for
trends in the framework of policies in order to manage information security as operational risk and
how corporate governance plays a vital role in framing policies within the company (Poole and
CISM, 2006). The increasing dependency of UK financial industries on IT solutions and services to
manage their business processes has indirectly coupled the financial IT systems to the economic well
being of a country. This means that risks associated with such financial IT systems would have an
impact on the economic elements of a nation. As more and more UK financial industries relies on IT
solutions to manage their businesses, Information security (IS) trails are increasingly becoming a part
of general audit practices within these UK financial industries. IS and IT audit trails for risk
assessment includes a number of risk elements like data security, firewall, server, network,
application, etc. Corporate governance policies are mostly excluded from IS audits as there is no
regulated roadmap for assessment. However some companies adopted industry wide standards like
COBIT and ISO but still unregulated by government authorities. Hence this research investigates the
significance of corporate governance policies towards the development of a robust IS framework in
the financial industry. It also looks at the government authority‘s role as a watchdog
SUSTAINABILITY IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS AUDITING
Auditing is a systematic process of obtaining and evaluating evidence of activities, events or transactions. Currently, audit practices have been revolutionized by the development of information technology and basically information systems auditing focuses on assessing proper implementation, operation and control of information systems resources within organisation. Several frameworks have been formulated for information systems auditing implementation to achieve improvement in auditing performance related to compliance requirements, internal controls evaluation and information systems success. However, sustainability dimensions in the information systems auditing practices and the development of appropriate framework are not enough discussed in the literature although sustainability is becoming significant in achieving certain organisation‘s objective. Therefore, this study intends to analyse the relevant requirements by auditors and sustainability factors and use them to formulate IS audit by integrating sustainability in the auditing process. Thus, improve audit performance and enhanced accountability and integrity of auditors
Specific Heat of Liquid Helium in Zero Gravity very near the Lambda Point
We report the details and revised analysis of an experiment to measure the
specific heat of helium with subnanokelvin temperature resolution near the
lambda point. The measurements were made at the vapor pressure spanning the
region from 22 mK below the superfluid transition to 4 uK above. The experiment
was performed in earth orbit to reduce the rounding of the transition caused by
gravitationally induced pressure gradients on earth. Specific heat measurements
were made deep in the asymptotic region to within 2 nK of the transition. No
evidence of rounding was found to this resolution. The optimum value of the
critical exponent describing the specific heat singularity was found to be a =
-0.0127+ - 0.0003. This is bracketed by two recent estimates based on
renormalization group techniques, but is slightly outside the range of the
error of the most recent result. The ratio of the coefficients of the leading
order singularity on the two sides of the transition is A+/A- =1.053+ - 0.002,
which agrees well with a recent estimate. By combining the specific heat and
superfluid density exponents a test of the Josephson scaling relation can be
made. Excellent agreement is found based on high precision measurements of the
superfluid density made elsewhere. These results represent the most precise
tests of theoretical predictions for critical phenomena to date.Comment: 27 Pages, 20 Figure
Possible origins of macroscopic left-right asymmetry in organisms
I consider the microscopic mechanisms by which a particular left-right (L/R)
asymmetry is generated at the organism level from the microscopic handedness of
cytoskeletal molecules. In light of a fundamental symmetry principle, the
typical pattern-formation mechanisms of diffusion plus regulation cannot
implement the "right-hand rule"; at the microscopic level, the cell's
cytoskeleton of chiral filaments seems always to be involved, usually in
collective states driven by polymerization forces or molecular motors. It seems
particularly easy for handedness to emerge in a shear or rotation in the
background of an effectively two-dimensional system, such as the cell membrane
or a layer of cells, as this requires no pre-existing axis apart from the layer
normal. I detail a scenario involving actin/myosin layers in snails and in C.
elegans, and also one about the microtubule layer in plant cells. I also survey
the other examples that I am aware of, such as the emergence of handedness such
as the emergence of handedness in neurons, in eukaryote cell motility, and in
non-flagellated bacteria.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figures, resubmitted to J. Stat. Phys. special issue.
Major rewrite, rearranged sections/subsections, new Fig 3 + 6, new physics in
Sec 2.4 and 3.4.1, added Sec 5 and subsections of Sec
Ruminal parameters of bovines fed diets based on sugar cane with doses of calcium hydroxide
Níveis de inclusão e tempo de exposição da cana-de-açúcar ao óxido de cálcio sobre parâmetros digestivos e o desempenho de novilhas Nelore
Distribuição de abundância de espécies da comunidade arbórea dotopo de um morro na floresta estacional subtropical
Population, Land Use and Deforestation in the Pan Amazon Basin: a Comparison of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú and Venezuela
This paper discusses the linkages between population change, land use, and deforestation in the Amazon regions of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, and Venezuela. We begin with a brief discussion of theories of population–environment linkages, and then focus on the case of deforestation in the PanAmazon. The core of the paper reviews available data on deforestation, population growth, migration and land use in order to see how well land cover change reflects demographic and agricultural change. The data indicate that population dynamics and net migration exhibit to deforestation in some states of the basin but not others. We then discuss other explanatory factors for deforestation, and find a close correspondence between land use and deforestation, which suggests that land use is loosely tied to demographic dynamics and mediates the influence of population on deforestation. We also consider national political economic contexts of Amazon change in the six countries, and find contrasting contexts, which also helps to explain the limited demographic-deforestation correspondence. The paper closes by noting general conclusions based on the data, topics in need of further research and recent policy proposals.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42720/1/10668_2003_Article_6977.pd
Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19
Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease
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