Sigmoid(x): secure distributed network storage

Secure data storage is a serious problem for computer users today, particularly in enterprise environments. As data requirements grow, traditional approaches of secured silos are showing their limitations. They represent a single – or at least, limited – point of failure, and require significant, and increasing, maintenance and overhead. Such solutions are totally unsuitable for consumers, who want a ‘plug and play’ secure solution for their increasing datasets – something with the ubiquity of access of Facebook or webmail. Network providers can provide centralised solutions, but that returns us to the first problem. Sigmoid(x) takes a completely different approach – a scalable, distributed, secure storage mechanism which shares data storage between the users themselves

Fragments of Boethius: The Reconstruction of the Cotton Manuscript of the Alfredian Text

‘These fragments I have shored against my ruins’: T. S. Eliot's metaphor in The Waste Land evokes the evanescent frailty of human existence and worldly endeavour with a poignancy that the Anglo-Saxons would surely have appreciated. Such a concept lies at the heart of Boethius's De consolatione Philosophiae, and perhaps prompted King Alfred to include this work amongst those which he considered most necessary for all men to know. Written in the early sixth century, Boethius's work was translated from Latin into Old English at the end of the ninth century, possibly by Alfred himself. It survives in two versions, one in prose (probably composed first) and the other in prose and verse, containing versifications of Boethius's Latin metres which had originally been rendered as Old English prose. It is the latter of these versions which will be the focus of my discussion here. Damaged beyond repair by fire and water, the set of fragments which contains this copy will be seen to epitomize the ideas imparted by the work in ways that Alfred could never have envisaged

The proposed Apologies Act for Scotland : good intentions with unforeseeable consequences

This article considers Scotland's proposed Apologies Act in the light of experience in other Common Law jurisdictions. A number of Common Law jurisdictions have passed Apologies Acts in the past 25 years, largely motivated by concerns about a 'litigation explosion'. The idea seems to be that providing evidentiary protection to apologies will encourage their use, or at least prevent insurers and lawyers from advising against them. Charlie Irvine considers the plausibility of this hypothesis and suggests that the drafters of the Bill face an unresolvable dilemma: blanket protection for apologies may prevent credible evidence from reaching the courts, while narrowing that protection to exclude admissions of fault may stilt apologies and rob them of credibility

Mediation and social norms : a response to Dame Hazel Genn

This article is a response to one of Dame Hazel Genn's 2009 Hamlyn Lectures in which she criticised mediators for having 'no interest in fairness and justice'. It considers the role of social norms in mediation, reviewing Ellen Waldman's useful taxonomy, before concluding that mediation rhetoric is out of step with much UK practice. It proposes that an ethical approach requires a thorough examination of mediators' values, which should be clearly articulated for the benefit of clients and the credibility of the profession. This is best achieved by the development of reflective practice

Balancing money and mission in a local church budget

This study of budgeting practices and attitudes to budgeting in a local church uses Booth’s (1993) framework to consider the potential conflict between the "sacred" agenda of the church and the "secular" nature of accounting. Over a six month period, the author conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with key church leaders, and studied financial reports and the minutes of church meetings. Clergy and lay people alike, far from viewing accounting as an unwelcome intrusion into their church's sacred agenda, integrated belief in their church’s mission with the need to raise and manage the money necessary to mobilise that mission. Religion and religious organizations occupy a greater importance in society than academic accounting research would indicate, and this paper represents a response to that academic blind spot. Opportunities abound for further studies of the contribution accounting makes to other religious organizations, and to non-profit organizations whose goals are not primarily wealth creation. All organizations, even those with a sacred agenda, need to confront the reality of money and accounting if they are to achieve success. If they are unable to obtain or account for the resources they need for their mission, their ability to fulfil that mission is likely to be compromised. By portraying accounting as an enabling and liberating contributor to a church's fulfilment of its spiritual mission, this study demonstrates that attitudes to accounting are inextricably intertwined with religious beliefs, and that accounting can be a valuable tool in a cooperative attempt to implement a spiritual vision

Adam Smith goes mobile : managing services beyond 3G with the digital marketplace

The next generation of mobile communications systems is expected to offer new business opportunities to existing and new market players. A market-based middleware framework has been recently proposed whereby service providers, independent of network operators, are able to tender online service contracts to network operators in a dynamic and competitive manner. This facilitates a seamless service provision over disparate networks in a consumer-centric manner. Service providers select network bearers according to the network operators' ability to meet the QoS target, which in turn is influenced, among other things, by user's price and quality requirements. The benefits of this proposal are the complementarity of numerous network resources, the decoupling of services and networks in a self-organising distributed environment, and increased competition to consumers’ advantag