IASME: Information Security Management Evolution for SMEs

Most of the research in information risk and risk management has focused on the needs of larger organisations. In the area of standards accreditation, the ISO/IEC 27001 Information Risk Management standard has continued to grow in acceptance and popularity with such organisations, although not to a significant extent with SMEs. An interesting product recently developed for ENISA (European Nations Information Security Association) based on the Carnegie-Mellon maturity model and aimed at SMEs has not so far filled the gap. In this paper, a researcher and two practitioners from the UK discuss an innovative development in the UK for addressing the information assurance needs of smaller organisations. They also share their perceptions about the security of national information infrastructures, and concerns that SMEs do not get the priority that their position in the supply chain would suggest they should have. The authors also explore the development and roll out of IASME (Information Assurance for SMEs), which they have developed in the context of a tight market, where spare cash is in short supply, and many SMEs are still in survival mode. The question for the business is therefore not seen as “can we afford to spend on information security” but “can we afford not to spend…” As well as the effect on being able to do business at all of having an SMEs systems compromised, there are also matters of reputation, and the growing threat of fines as a result of not complying with laws and regulations. The paper concludes with achievements of real businesses using the IASME process to cost-effectively achieve information assurance levels appropriate for themselves

Balancing Risk Appetite and Risk Attitude in Requirements: a Framework for User Liberation

The tendency to throw controls at perceived and real system vulnerabilities, coupled with the likelihood of these controls being technical in nature, has the propensity to favour security over usability. However there is little evidence of increased assurance and it could encourage work stoppages or deviations that keep honest users from engaging with the system. The conflicting balance of trust and controls, and the challenge of turning that balance into clear requirements, creates an environment that alienates users and feeds the paranoia of actors who assume more ownership of the system than necessary. Security therefore becomes an inhibitor rather than an enabler for the community. This paper looks at measuring the balance of an organisation’s or a community’s risk appetite with the risk attitudes of its members in the early stages of IS development. It suggests how the dials of assurance can be influenced by the levers of good systems practice to create a cultural shift to trusting the users

To Adapt or Not to Adapt – Consequences of Adapting Driver and Traffic Light Agents

One way to cope with the increasing traffic demand is to integrate standard solutions with more intelligent control measures. However, the result of possible interferences between intelligent control or information provision tools and other components of the overall traffic system is not easily predictable. This paper discusses the effects of integrating co-adaptive decision-making regarding route choices (by drivers) and control measures (by traffic lights). The motivation behind this is that optimization of traffic light control is starting to be integrated with navigation support for drivers. We use microscopic, agent-based modelling and simulation, in opposition to the classical network analysis, as this work focuses on the effect of local adaptation. In a scenario that exhibits features comparable to real-world networks, we evaluate different types of adaptation by drivers and by traffic lights, based on local perceptions. In order to compare the performance, we have also used a global level optimization method based on genetic algorithms

The political process of constructing a sustainable London Olympics sports development legacy

This study attempts to develop a research agenda for understanding the process of constructing a sustainable Olympic sports development legacy. The research uses a social constructivist perspective to examine the link between the 2012 London Olympic Games and sustainable sports development. The first part of the paper provides justification for the study of sport policy processes using a constructivist lens. This is followed by a section which critically unpacks sustainable sports development drawing on Mosse’s (1998) ideas of process-oriented research and Searle’s conceptualisation of the construction of social reality. Searle’s (1995) concepts of the assignment of function, collective intentionality, collective rules, and human capacity to cope with the environment are considered in relation to the events and discourses emerging from the legacy vision(s) associated with the 2012 London Olympic Games. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for engaging in process oriented research and highlights key elements, research questions, and methodological issues. The proposed constructivist approach can be used to inform policy, practice, and research on sustainable Olympic sports development legacy

Definitive chemoradiation in patients with inoperable oesophageal carcinoma

We performed a retrospective study of 90 consecutive cases with inoperable carcinoma of the oesophagus treated with definitive chemoradiation at a single cancer centre between 1995 and 2002. For the last 4 years, 73 patients have received therapy according to an agreed protocol. This outpatient-based regimen involves four cycles of chemotherapy, cycles 3 and 4 given concurrently with 50 Gy external beam radiotherapy (XRT) delivered in 25 fractions over 5 weeks. Cisplatin 60 mg m-2 day-1 is given every 3 weeks together with continuous infusional 5-fluorouracil 300 mg m-2 day-1, reduced to 225 mg m-2 day-1 during the XRT. In all, 45 (50%) patients suffered one or more WHO grade 3/4 toxicity, grade 3 in 93% cases. Patients received more than 90% of the planned chemoradiation schedule. The median overall survival was 26 (15, >96) months, 51% (41, 64) and 26% (13, 52) surviving 2 and 5 years, respectively. Advanced stage, particularly T4 disease, was associated with a worse prognosis. Patients considered not suitable for surgery for reasons other than their disease, mainly co-morbidity, had a significantly better outcome, median survival 40 (26, >96) months, 2- and 5-year survivals 67% (54, 84) and 32% (13, 79), respectively (P<0.001). This schedule is a feasible, tolerable and effective treatment for patients with oesophageal cancer considered unsuitable for surgery

Thermal Diffusion and Quench Propagation in YBCO Pancake Coils Wound with ZnO-and Mylar Insulations

The thermal diffusion properties of several different kinds of YBCO insulations and the quench properties of pancake coils made using these insulations were studied. Insulations investigated include Nomex, Kapton, and Mylar, as well as insulations based on ZnO, Zn2GeO4, and ZnO-Cu. Initially, short stacks of YBCO conductors with interlayer insulation, epoxy, and a central heater strip were made and later measured for thermal conductivity in liquid nitrogen. Subsequently, three different pancake coils were made. The first two were smaller, each using one meter total of YBCO tape present as four turns around a G-10 former. One of these smaller coils used Mylar insulation co-wound with the YBCO tape, the other used YBCO tape onto which ZnO based insulation had been deposited. One larger coil was made which used 12 total meters of ZnO-insulated tape and had 45 turns. The results for all short sample and coil thermal conductivities were ~1-3 Wm-1K-1. Finally, quench propagation velocity measurements were performed on the coils (77 K, self field) by applying a DC current and then using a heater pulse to initiate a quench. Normal zone propagation velocity (NZP) values were obtained for the coils both in the radial direction and in the azimuthal direction. Radial NZP values (0.05-0.7 mm/s) were two orders of magnitude lower than axial values (~14-17 mm/s). Nevertheless, the quenches were generally seen to propagate radially within the coils, in the sense that any given layer in the coil is driven normal by the layer underneath it.Comment: 58 pages, 5 tables, 16 fig

Altered Skeletal Muscle Lipase Expression and Activity Contribute to Insulin Resistance in Humans

International audienceOBJECTIVE: Insulin resistance is associated with elevated content of skeletal muscle lipids, including triacylglycerols (TAGs) and diacylglycerols (DAGs). DAGs are by-products of lipolysis consecutive to TAG hydrolysis by adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and are subsequently hydrolyzed by hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). We hypothesized that an imbalance of ATGL relative to HSL (expression or activity) may contribute to DAG accumulation and insulin resistance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We first measured lipase expression in vastus lateralis biopsies of young lean (n = 9), young obese (n = 9), and obese-matched type 2 diabetic (n = 8) subjects. We next investigated in vitro in human primary myotubes the impact of altered lipase expression/activity on lipid content and insulin signaling. RESULTS: Muscle ATGL protein was negatively associated with whole-body insulin sensitivity in our population (r = -0.55, P = 0.005), whereas muscle HSL protein was reduced in obese subjects. We next showed that adenovirus-mediated ATGL overexpression in human primary myotubes induced DAG and ceramide accumulation. ATGL overexpression reduced insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis (-30%, P < 0.05) and disrupted insulin signaling at Ser1101 of the insulin receptor substrate-1 and downstream Akt activation at Ser473. These defects were fully rescued by nonselective protein kinase C inhibition or concomitant HSL overexpression to restore a proper lipolytic balance. We show that selective HSL inhibition induces DAG accumulation and insulin resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, the data indicate that altered ATGL and HSL expression in skeletal muscle could promote DAG accumulation and disrupt insulin signaling and action. Targeting skeletal muscle lipases may constitute an interesting strategy to improve insulin sensitivity in obesity and type 2 diabetes

Metabolic Remodeling of Human Skeletal Myocytes by Cocultured Adipocytes Depends on the Lipolytic State of the System

Adipocyte infiltration of the musculoskeletal system is well recognized as a hallmark of aging, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Intermuscular adipocytes might serve as a benign storage site for surplus lipid or play a role in disrupting energy homeostasis as a result of dysregulated lipolysis or secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. This investigation sought to understand the net impact of local adipocytes on skeletal myocyte metabolism. Interactions between these two tissues were modeled using a coculture system composed of primary human adipocytes and human skeletal myotubes derived from lean or obese donors. Metabolic analysis of myocytes was performed after coculture with lipolytically silent or activated adipocytes and included transcript and metabolite profiling along with assessment of substrate selection and insulin action. Cocultured adipocytes increased myotube mRNA expression of genes involved in oxidative metabolism, regardless of the donor and degree of lipolytic activity. Adipocytes in the basal state sequestered free fatty acids, thereby forcing neighboring myotubes to rely more heavily on glucose fuel. Under this condition, insulin action was enhanced in myotubes from lean but not obese donors. In contrast, when exposed to lipolytically active adipocytes, cocultured myotubes shifted substrate use in favor of fatty acids, which was accompanied by intracellular accumulation of triacylglycerol and even-chain acylcarnitines, decreased glucose oxidation, and modest attenuation of insulin signaling. The effects of cocultured adipocytes on myocyte substrate selection and insulin action depended on the metabolic state of the system. These findings are relevant to understanding the metabolic consequences of intermuscular adipogenesis