AUTOMATING PERIODIC ROLE-CHECKS A TOOL-BASED APPROACH

The use of roles in Identity Management has proven to be a solution for reorganising and securing the access structures of organisations. One critical challenge companies face after they implemented roles is the maintenance of the role system itself. This includes sophisticated duties like periodically verifying the valid roles. We argue that due to the high complexity, periodic rolechecks need to be automated. However, as a result of lacking theoretical foundation, no approaches to leverage the level automation have been published so far. In this work we develop a catalogue of use cases that affect the role definitions within an organisation. We propose checkROLE, a tool for automated role-checking on basis of the defined use case catalogue

In situ accessibility of Escherichia coli 23S rRNA to fluorescently labeled oligonucleotide probes

One of the main causes of failure of fluorescence in situ hybridization with rRNA-targeted oligonucleotides, besides low cellular ribosome content and impermeability of cell walls, is the inaccessibility of probe target sites due to higher-order structure of the ribosome. Analogous to a study on the 16S rRNA (B. M. Fuchs, G. Wallner, W. Beisker, I. Schwippl, W. Ludwig, and R. Amann, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64:4973–4982, 1998), the accessibility of the 23S rRNA of Escherichia coli DSM 30083T was studied in detail with a set of 184 CY3-labeled oligonucleotide probes. The probe-conferred fluorescence was quantified flow cytometrically. The brightest signal resulted from probe 23S-2018, complementary to positions 2018 to 2035. The distribution of probe-conferred cell fluorescence in six arbitrarily set brightness classes (classes I to VI, 100 to 81%, 80 to 61%, 60 to 41%, 40 to 21%, 20 to 6%, and 5 to 0% of the brightness of 23S-2018, respectively) was as follows: class I, 3%; class II, 21%; class III, 35%; class IV, 18%; class V, 16%; and class VI, 7%. A fine-resolution analysis of selected areas confirmed steep changes in accessibility on the 23S RNA to oligonucleotide probes. This is similar to the situation for the 16S rRNA. Indeed, no significant differences were found between the hybridization of oligonucleotide probes to 16S and 23S rRNA. Interestingly, indications were obtained of an effect of the type of fluorescent dye coupled to a probe on in situ accessibility. The results were translated into an accessibility map for the 23S rRNA ofE. coli, which may be extrapolated to other bacteria. Thereby, it may contribute to a better exploitation of the high potential of the 23S rRNA for identification of bacteria in the future

Buy Three to Waste One? How Real-World Purchase Data Predict Groups of Food Wasters

Approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption is either lost or wasted. Given the central position of retailers in the supply chain, they have the potential to effectively reduce consumer food waste by implementing targeted interventions. To do so, however, they should target distinct consumer groups. In this research, we use a unique data set comprising the grocery shopping data of customers who use loyalty cards, complemented with food waste reports, to derive three distinct target groups: traditionals, time-constrained, and convenience lovers. Based on the general behavioral change literature, we discuss diverse target group-specific interventions that retailers can implement to reduce consumer food waste. Overall, we pave a research path to examine how retailers and marketing can effectively shift consumer behavior toward more sustainable food and shopping practices and assume responsibility within the food supply chain

From Shopping Aids to Fully Autonomous Mobile Self-checkouts - A Field Study in Retail

Self-checkout terminals allow integrating customers as active co-producers into a retailer’s business processes. They have enjoyed increasing popularity in the past years since they allow saving costs and increasing customer satisfaction. Yet, they cannot be implemented in many retail settings, as the technology relies on retailer provided terminals and does not yet fully utilize the possibilities provided by mobile smartphones, which until recently have mostly served as decision or shopping aids. This paper presents steps towards and results from a field study of a purely mobile self-checkout solution that provides a more time efficient shopping experience to time-constrained users. We show that the time performance of app users is independent of store rush and that the time for a transaction is significantly lower for app users compared to regular shoppers during peak periods

Arbeitslosigkeit und Sozialhilfebezug : Sonderuntersuchung der Bundesvereinigung der kommunalen Spitzenverbände in Zusammenarbeit mit der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit im September 1989

"Die Sonderuntersuchung wurde in den Sozialämtern einer repräsentativen Stichprobe von 17 kreisfreien Städten und 21 Landkreisen durchgeführt. Dabei wurden die Akten von rd. 25.000 systematisch ausgewählten Fällen laufender Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt ausgewertet, um nähere Informationen über arbeitslose Sozialhilfeempfänger zu erhalten. Die auf den September 1989 bezogene Erhebung ist vergleichbar mit einer bereits 1985 durchgeführten Sonderuntersuchung. Im September 1989 gab es demnach unter den Empfängern laufender Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt hochgerechnet auf das alte Bundesgebiet rd. 300.000 Haushalte bzw. Einzelpersonen mit mindestens einem registrierten Arbeitslosen. Damit wurde 1989 wie 1985 rd. ein Drittel der laufenden Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt durch Arbeitslosigkeit verursacht oder in der Höhe der Leistungen beeinflußt; 17% aller registrierten Arbeitslosen (1985: 13%) waren ganz oder teilweise auf Sozialhilfe angewiesen. In regionaler Gliederung streuen die Ergebnisse beträchtlich. Rund zwei Drittel der arbeitslosen Sozialhilfeempfänger haben keine Leistungsansprüche nach dem Arbeitsförderungsgesetz (AFG), häufig wegen einer Unterbrechung der Erwerbstätigkeit. Mehr noch als bei den Arbeitslosen insgesamt stehen bei den arbeitslosen Sozialhilfeempfängern Personen ohne abgeschlossene Berufsausbildung im Vordergrund (60%). Erkennbar ist ein deutlicher Zusammenhang mit Langzeitarbeitslosigkeit und wiederholter Arbeitslosigkeit. Für die Sozialhilfeträger errechnen sich insgesamt rd. 3 1/2 Mrd. DM Aufwendungen pro Jahr, die im Zusammenhang mit Arbeitslosigkeit stehen. Hinzu kommen Aufwendungen für gut 11.000 nach § 19 Bundessozialhilfegesetz geförderte privatrechtliche Beschäftigungsverhältnisse (mit Arbeitsbeschaffungsmaßnahmen nach dem AFG vergleichbar, Bestandszahl Ende September 1989). Zu öffentlich-rechtlicher Beschäftigung (mit Mehraufwandsentschädigung) wurden im Laufe des Monats September 1989 knapp 8.000 Sozialhilfeempfänger herangezogen, darunter 3.000 registrierte Arbeitslose." (Autorenreferat)Sozialhilfeempfänger, Arbeitslosigkeit, Transfereinkommen

Sound Localization in Single-Sided Deaf Participants Provided With a Cochlear Implant

Spatial hearing is crucial in real life but deteriorates in participants with severe sensorineural hearing loss or single-sided deafness. This ability can potentially be improved with a unilateral cochlear implant (CI). The present study investigated measures of sound localization in participants with single-sided deafness provided with a CI. Sound localization was measured separately at eight loudspeaker positions (4°, 30°, 60°, and 90°) on the CI side and on the normal-hearing side. Low- and high-frequency noise bursts were used in the tests to investigate possible differences in the processing of interaural time and level differences. Data were compared to normal-hearing adults aged between 20 and 83. In addition, the benefit of the CI in speech understanding in noise was compared to the localization ability. Fifteen out of 18 participants were able to localize signals on the CI side and on the normal-hearing side, although performance was highly variable across participants. Three participants always pointed to the normal-hearing side, irrespective of the location of the signal. The comparison with control data showed that participants had particular difficulties localizing sounds at frontal locations and on the CI side. In contrast to most previous results, participants were able to localize low-frequency signals, although they localized high-frequency signals more accurately. Speech understanding in noise was better with the CI compared to testing without CI, but only at a position where the CI also improved sound localization. Our data suggest that a CI can, to a large extent, restore localization in participants with single-sided deafness. Difficulties may remain at frontal locations and on the CI side. However, speech understanding in noise improves when wearing the CI. The treatment with a CI in these participants might provide real-world benefits, such as improved orientation in traffic and speech understanding in difficult listening situations