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Aligning enterprise risk management with business strategy and information systems
Business leaders recognise effective risk management as one of the main success drivers for enterprises. Even though the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) concept has evolved significantly in the past years, in the aftermath of recent economic crises it became evident some of its critical challenges still need to be addressed. The review of subject literature led to a conclusion that current ERM approaches failed to protect enterprise value in turbulent and risky market conditions. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a conceptual analysis of the most common ERM practices and frameworks, in order to identify their shortcomings and areas requiring development. It is further aimed to provide guidance to business practitioners in implementing more integrated and effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) solutions. This research recognises the importance of aligning ERM programmes with business strategies, and with consolidated Information Systems. A “New Approach ERM Model” is developed as guidance for a successful alignment of ERM with enterprise business strategy, and for an effective adaption of Information Systems to requirements of ERM programmes. The “New Approach ERM Model” steers risk management initiatives and strategies in the same direction, and consequently allows enterprises to improve organisational effectiveness, increase shareholders value, and gain competitive advantage in the market
Bogoliubov excitation spectrum of an elongated condensate from quasi-one-dimensional to three-dimensional transition
The quasiparticle excitation spectra of a Bose gas trapped in a highly
anisotropic trap is studied with respect to varying total number of particles
by numerically solving the effective one-dimensional (1D) Gross-Pitaevskii (GP)
equation proposed recently by Mateo \textit{et al.}. We obtain the static
properties and Bogoliubov spectra of the system in the high energy domain. This
method is computationally efficient and highly accurate for a condensate system
undergoing a 1D to three-dimensional (3D) cigar-shaped transition, as is shown
through a comparison our results with both those calculated by the 3D-GP
equation and analytical results obtained in limiting cases. We identify the
applicable parameter space for the effective 1D-GP equation and find that this
equation fails to describe a system with large number of atoms. We also
identify that the description of the transition from 1D Bose-Einstein
condensate (BEC) to 3D cigar-shaped BEC using this equation is not smooth,
which highlights the fact that for a finite value of the junction
between the 1D and 3D crossover is not perfect.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
Optimisation of solvolysis for recycling carbon fibre reinforced composites
Solvolysis processes have been used to degrade the resin of two different varieties of epoxy based carbon fibre reinforced composite (CFRC) materials. A degradation of up to 98% has been achieved when processing material at a temperature of 320 °C using a supercritical solvent mixture of acetone and water. Increasing the processing time from 1 to 2 hours shows an increase in the degradation of only 10% and there does not appear to be any benefit in processing the material beyond this time. Due to the batch conditions used, it is necessary to rinse the fibres with acetone after processing to remove remaining organic residue. Washing the fibres at supercritical batch conditions, however, does not efficiently remove the residue compared to a simple hand washing with acetone. Shredding the sample prior to processing also does not have a significant effect. The process investigated requires 19 MJ.kg-1 of fibres recovered and, since the process has not yet been optimised, shows strong potential for future development especially since it allows for the recovery and reuse of organic resinous products
Large Scale Baryon Isocurvature Inhomogeneities
Big bang nucleosynthesis constraints on baryon isocurvature perturbations are
determined. A simple model ignoring the effects of the scale of the
perturbations is first reviewed. This model is then extended to test the claim
that large amplitude perturbations will collapse, forming compact objects and
preventing their baryons from contributing to the observed baryon density. It
is found that baryon isocurvature perturbations are constrained to provide only
a slight increase in the density of baryons in the universe over the standard
homogeneous model. In particular it is found that models which rely on power
laws and the random phase approximation for the power spectrum are incompatible
with big bang nucleosynthesis unless an {\em ad hoc}, small scale cutoff is
included.Comment: 11pages + 8figures, LaTeX (2.09), postscript figures available via
anonymous ftp from oddjob.uchicago.edu:/ftp/ibbn/fig?.ps where ?=1-8 or via
email from [email protected], Fermilab-Pub-94/???-A and UMN-TH-1307/9
A plasmid-based lacZα gene assay for DNA polymerase fidelity measurement
A significantly improved DNA polymerase fidelity assay, based on a gapped plasmid containing the lacZα reporter gene in a single-stranded region, is described. Nicking at two sites flanking lacZα, and removing the excised strand by thermocycling in the presence of complementary competitor DNA, is used to generate the gap. Simple methods are presented for preparing the single-stranded competitor. The gapped plasmid can be purified, in high amounts and in a very pure state, using benzoylated-naphthoylated DEAE-cellulose, resulting in a low background mutation frequency (~1 × 10(-4)). Two key parameters, the number of detectable sites and the expression frequency, necessary for measuring polymerase error rates have been determined. DNA polymerase fidelity is measured by gap filling in vitro, followed by transformation into Escherichia coli and scoring of blue/white colonies and converting the ratio to error rate. Several DNA polymerases have been used to fully validate this straightforward and highly sensitive system
Some Revised Observational Constraints on the Formation and Evolution of the Galactic Disk
A set of 76 open clusters with abundances based upon DDO photometry and/or
moderate dispersion spectroscopy has been transformed to a common [Fe/H] scale
and used to study the local structure and evolution of the galactic disk. The
metallicity distribution of clusters with R_GC is best described by two
distinct zones. Between R_GC = 6.5 and 10 kpc, the distribution has a mean
[Fe/H] = 0.0 and a dispersion of 0.1 dex; there is only weak evidence for a
shallow abundance gradient over this distance range. Beyond R_GC = 10 kpc, the
metallicity distribution has a dispersion between 0.10 and 0.15 dex, but with a
mean [Fe/H] = -0.3, implying a sharp discontinuity at R_GC = 10 kpc. After
correcting for the discontinuity, no evidence is found for a gradient
perpendicular to the plane. Adopting the clusters interior to 10 kpc as a
representative sample of the galactic disk over the last 7 Gyr, the cluster
metallicity range is found to be about half that of the field stars. When
coupled with the discontinuity in the galactocentric gradient, the discrepancy
in the metallicity distribution is interpreted as an indication of significant
diffusion of field stars into the solar neighborhood from beyond 10 kpc. These
results imply that the sun is NOT atypical of the stars formed in the solar
circle 4.6 Gyr ago. It is suggested that the discontinuity reflects the edge of
the initial galactic disk as defined by the disk globular cluster system and
the so-called thick disk; the initial offset in [Fe/H] created by the
differences in the chemical history on either side of the discontinuity has
carried through to the current stage of galactic evolution. If correct,
diffusion coupled with the absence of an abundance gradient could make the
separation of field stars on the basis of galactocentric origin difficult.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figure files, LaTex. Appendix section and tables (tex or
postscript) available at http://kubarb.phsx.ukans.edu/ ~twarog/ Submitted to
Astronomical Journal July 199
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